India, Nov. 11 -- Seasoned Afghanistan batter Rahmat Shah carved his name into the annals of cricket history as he became the first player from his nation to break into the top 10 of any category in the ICC Men's Test Player rankings. The 33-year-old right-hander jumped six places to secure a career-best 7th position among Test batters, with a career-high 735 ranking points. He moved past Shubman Gill, Aiden Markram and Kamindu Mendis.

The catalyst for Shah's dramatic rise in the ICC rankings was his marathon innings against Zimbabwe in the first Test at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 8 (Sunday). Responding to Zimbabwe's mammoth first-innings total of 504, Shah anchored the Afghan innings with a masterful 173. Batting for 347 de...