Indian talismanic No. 3 batter Virat Kohli is now just 20 rating points behind skipper Shubman Gill in the race for the No. 1 spot in the latest ICC ODI batting rankings. Kohli’s unbeaten 139 from 88 deliveries has taken him past 15,000 ODI runs as India chased down a target of 296 in the first ODI, overtaking Daryl Mitchell to second position and to within 20 rating points of top-ranked Gill.
On the other hand, England opener Tom Banton surged to 83rd position, gaining a whopping 333 places after an exceptional Sri Lanka ODI series. Kusal Mendis, who aggregated 198 runs in the series, is at a career-best seventh position.
Meanwhile, South African batter Matthew Breetzke’s 136 runs have lifted him 19 places to 21st, while David Miller returns to the rankings in 41st position after scoring 151 runs. Captain Temba Bavuma, who also notched a ton in the second match as South Africa took a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series, has advanced 10 slots to 32nd position, while Will Jacks (up six places to 71st) and Marco Jansen (up 42 places to 87th) have also moved up.
In the ODI bowling rankings, Maharaj’s six wickets in the two ODIs against Australia have propelled him three places to third, while Yadav’s four-wicket haul for 40 runs in Thiruvananthapuram has lifted him four spots to fifth.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has returned to the top 10 after claiming three wickets at the Wanderers. His teammate Nathan Ellis (up two places to 15th), West Indies’ Jayden Seales (up four places to 22nd), Sri Lanka’s Dunith Wellalage (up 12 places to 26th), and India’s M. Prasidh Krishna (up six places to 42nd) are among the other bowlers to make significant gains.
