England's Joe Root moves into top three of Test batting rankings and into fourth in all-rounder standings

Joe Root gatecrashes top three of Test batting rankings and also into top five of all-rounder standings; England team-mate Zak Crawley into top 20 of batting charts for first time; Ravichandran Ashwin closes gap on Jasprit Bumrah at top of bowling standings ahead of series finale

Image: England's Joe Root is up to third in the ICC Test batting rankings

England's Joe Root is back in the top three of the ICC Test batting rankings and into the top four of the all-rounder standings.

Root struck an unbeaten 122 in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi as he returned to form after scoring just 77 runs across his first six innings in the five-match series.

The former England captain has moved up two places to the third in the latest adjustment to the batting rankings, above New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell and Pakistan's Babar Azam.

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain says Root will go down as arguably his country's best batsman

Root is now behind only New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's Steve Smith.

The 33-year-old, who has taken eight wickets in the first four Tests against India with his off-spin, only trails India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan in the all-rounder charts.

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Image: Root has taken eight wickets in the India series so far

England captain Ben Stokes has dropped to seventh on that list having not bowled since July but is making quicker progress than he expected following knee surgery late last year.

Stokes said there was a chance he could bowl in the fourth Test but did not deploy himself during England's five-wicket defeat, a result that saw India take an unassailable 3-1 lead with a game to play.

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Root and Stokes' England team-mate Zak Crawley is into the top of 20 of the batting rankings for the first time after scores of 42 and 60 in Ranchi.

Image: Zak Crawley is into to the top 20 in the ICC Test batting rankings

India spinner Ashwin's five-wicket haul in the second innings of the fourth Test has seen him close the top on team-mate Jasprit Bumrah at the top of the bowling charts to 21 points, with Bumrah on 867 and Ashwin 846.

Bumrah was rested for the fourth Test as India secured a 17th successive series win at home but could return for the final game in Dharamshala from Thursday March 7.

Follow text commentary from day one of the fifth Test between India and England live on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App from 3.30am on Thursday March 7 (4am first ball).

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