Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli has climbed back 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 at Vadodara. With 785 rating points, Virat Kohli has now become the world’s No. 1 ODI batter, dethroning Rohit Sharma from the top in the latest ICC ODI Rankings for the batters.
Virat Kohli dethrones Rohit Sharma to become world No.1 ODI batter again
Kohli played a brilliant knock of 93 runs from 91 balls in the ongoing three-match ODI series opener in Vadodara that helped him become the second all-time highest run scorer in international cricket.
Before the first ODI against the Black Caps, the former Indian captain has been in dangerous form with the bat. Since his two ducks on the Australia tour, Kohli has been unstoppable, hitting 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, scoring 93 to help India take a 1-0 lead. His match-winning knock took Kohli to the top of the ICC ODI Rankings, making him the No. 1 ODI batter in the world at the age of 37.
The former Indian captain had held this position last in July 2021. This is the 11th time in his career that Kohli has reached the top of the ICC ODI Rankings. In total, Kohli has now spent 825 days as the world’s No. 1 ODI batter, which is the highest by any Indian player and the 10th most by any cricketer in history.
West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards (2306) remains the player with the most days as the world’s number one ODI batter, followed by Brian Lara (2079), Michael Bevan (1361), Babar Azam (1359), and AB de Villiers (1356). In the top 10, only Babar and Kohli are the active players.
However, Rohit Sharma slipped to the third position 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 didn’t help him bolster his position at the top.
Rohit is now the third-ranked batter in the ODIs with 775 rating points. However, KL Rahul made a one-spot gain and jumped to the 11th position in the ranking, with the skipper Shubman Gill remaining the fifth-best batter in the format with 725 rating points.
On the other hand, New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell’s brilliant knock of 84 runs from 71 balls in the first ODI against India helped him move up to the second spot in the rankings. Mitchell is now the world’s No. 2 ODI batter, and he is now just one rating point behind Kohli.
Another New Zealander, Devon Conway, continues his brilliant form with the bat as he moved up three places to reach 29th in the latest ICC ODI Rankings. The New Zealand opener has been scoring consistently at the top and is getting rewarded for his form.
In the bowling rankings, India pacer Mohammed Siraj made a strong jump after taking two wickets for 40 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand. Siraj has climbed five spots to reach 15th, level with Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the latest rankings for the bowlers.
New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson also enjoyed a big rise. After producing the best bowling spell of his career against India and picking up four wickets, he jumped 27 places to move to 69th. He now shares that spot with India’s Arshdeep Singh.