July 24 (CRICKETNMORE) - Karunaratne scored 53 and 85, and also benefitted from Dinesh Chandimal’s absence as well as below-par performances from Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram to move up three places to a career-best seventh position. Karunaratne now leads Chandimal by 21 points, while he is ahead of ninth-ranked Elgar and 10th-ranked Markram by 30 and 51 points, respectively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Karunaratne’s opening partner Danushka Gunathilaka, who also scored two half-centuries and was involved in opening partnerships of 116 and 91, has made an impressive gain of 36 places and now occupies 73rd position.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The biggest mover in the latest rankings is South Africa’s middle-order batsman Theunis de Bruyn. Although de Bruyn’s 101 failed to save his side from a 199-run defeat, his maiden Test century in his sixth Test has lifted the 25-year-old from 148th to 105th (up by 43 places).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The batting table is headed by Australia’s Steve Smith, although second-ranked Virat Kohli will be eyeing the number-one spot when he leads India in the five-Test series starting at Edgbaston next week. Kohli is presently 26 points behind Smith, but leads his third-ranked opposite number Joe Root by 48 points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n