Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli has returned to the top of the latest ICC ODI rankings after the Men in Blue’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI in Vadodara. With 785 rating points, Virat Kohli has now become the world No. 1 ODI batsman, ousting Rohit Sharma from the top in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen.
Red-hot Virat Kohli overtakes Rohit Sharma to become world No. 1 ODI batsman again
Virat Kohli played a brilliant inning of 93 runs in 91 balls in the opening match of the ongoing three-match ODI series in Vadodara, making him the second-highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket.
The former Indian captain is in dangerous form with the bat before the first ODI against the Black Caps. Since his two zeroes on the Australia tour, Kohli has been unbeaten, scoring an unbeaten 74 in the final ODI at the SCG, followed by 135, 102 and 65* against South Africa in the recent series.
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And then, he continued his form in the ongoing three-match ODI series against New Zealand and scored 93 runs to help India take a 1-0 lead. His match-winning innings took Kohli to the top of the ICC ODI rankings, making him the world No. 1 ODI batsman at the age of 37.
Historic achievement for Virat Kohli at the age of 37
The former Indian captain last held the post in July 2021. This is the 11th time in his career that Kohli has reached the top of the ICC ODI rankings. Overall, Kohli has so far spent 825 days as the world No. 1 ODI batsman, the most by any Indian player in history and the 10th most by any cricketer.
West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards (2306) remains the player with the most number of days as world number one ODI batsman, followed by Brian Lara (2079), Michael Bevan (1361), Babar Azam (1359) and AB de Villiers (1356). Only Babar and Kohli are active players in the top 10.
Rohit Sharma slipped to third place; KL Rahul benefits
However, Rohit Sharma slipped to third in the latest ICC ODI rankings after failing to make a big impact in the first ODI against New Zealand. The former Indian captain’s last five scores are 121*, 57, 14, 75 and 26, which did not help him consolidate his position at the top.
Rohit is now the third-ranked batsman in ODIs with 775 rating points. However, KL Rahul gained one place and moved up to 11th in the rankings, while captain Shubman Gill remained the fifth-best batsman in the format with 725 rating points.
Also Read: Why Virat Kohli has always been greater than Rohit Sharma? Former RCB star explains
Daryl Mitchell behind Kohli; Devon Conway continues to rise
On the other hand, New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell’s brilliant inning of 84 runs in 71 balls in the first ODI against India helped him reach the second position in the rankings. Mitchell is now the world No. 2 ODI batsman and is now just one rating point behind Kohli.
Another New Zealand player, Devon Conway, has continued his stellar form with the bat and has moved up three places to 29th in the latest ICC ODI rankings. This New Zealand opening batsman is continuously scoring runs at the top and is also getting rewarded for his form.
Mohammed Siraj and Kyle Jamieson shine in ICC ODI bowling rankings
India’s fast bowler Mohammad Siraj has made a huge jump in the bowling rankings by taking two wickets for 40 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand. In the latest rankings, Siraj has climbed five places to 15th and is on par with Bangladesh all-rounder Mehdi Hasan Miraz.
New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson also got a big lead. After bowling his career-best bowling spell against India and taking four wickets, he jumped 27 places to 69th. He now shares that spot with India’s Arshdeep Singh.
