Star batter moves back into top 5, Kuldeep Yadav gains places after IND vs WI 2025 Test series

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Team India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal moved back into the top five of the latest ICC Men's Test batter rankings after his heroics to finish the home Test series against the West Indies. After missing out on a big score in the series opener at Ahmedabad, the youngster ensured to make it count in the recently concluded second Test in Delhi.

Jaiswal slayed the West Indian attack to all corners, scoring a brilliant 175 off 258 deliveries to set up India's massive first innings total of 518/5 declared. Despite falling early in the second innings, his first innings century helped the 23-year-old climb two spots to No.5 on the Test batter rankings.

Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the biggest beneficiary among bowlers, thanks to his eight-wicket outing in the second West Indies Test. On a flatish wicket at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the 30-year-old picked up his fifth Test five-wicket haul in the first innings.

He followed it up with a crucial three-wicket spell in the second innings as the West Indies collapsed from a dominant 271/3 to 311/9 in no time. Kuldeep jumped up seven spots to enter the top 15 of the Test bowler rankings at No. 14.

Jaiswal and Kuldeep's exploits helped India complete a seven-wicket win in the second Test and claim the series 2-0.

"Playing back-to-back is always fun" - Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav admitted he enjoyed playing back-to-back Tests in the West Indies series after winning the Player of the Match award for the second Test in Delhi. The veteran spinner boasts an excellent Test record with 68 wickets at an average of 21.69 and a strike rate of under 37.

Yet, he has only played 15 Tests for India since making his debut way back in 2017. Kuldeep has often been overlooked in overseas Tests, with only four out of his 15 Tests coming outside India.

Talking about his performance after the Delhi Test, Kuldeep Yadav said (via ESPN Cricinfo):

"This was a totally different wicket to the first Test. Bowling lots of overs was the challenge, enjoyed it. Didn't get drift here, wicket was too dry. Playing back-to-back is always fun. Lovely to have Jadeja around, has always guided me in tough situations."

The West Indies series was Kuldeep's first set of matches in the red-ball format for India in almost a year. The veteran was part of the Indian squad for the recent five-Test series in England but did not feature in the 11 in any of the matches.

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Venkatesh Ravichandran

Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

Venkatesh ensures proper research from reliable sources and social media trends to gather information, and adds his own dash of creativity to create insightful content.

He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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