After striking an incredible half-century against New Zealand in the opening game of the three-game series in Vadodara, India’s star batsman Virat Kohli recaptured the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings for batters, replacing Rohit Sharma.
For the first time since July 2021, he is back at number one at the age of 37, while former India captain Rohit has fallen to third place.
With a 91-ball 93, Kohli became the second-highest run scorer in men’s international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar as India defeated the Black Caps by four wickets on Sunday.
Recent ODI performances by Kohli have been nothing short of extraordinary. In his last five games, he has scored an undefeated 74 against Australia, 135, 102, and 65 not out against the visiting South Africans, and 93 against New Zealand.
Kohli first rose to the No. 1 spot in October 2013, and this latest rise marks the 11th separate stint at the summit. Overall, he has now spent 825 days at the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings — the 10th-most by any player and the highest by an Indian batter.
Shreyas Iyer is the other Indian batter in the top ten, while Shubman Gill, the captain of India’s ODI team, has held onto his fifth position.
New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell is now just one rating point behind Kohli, who is at 785, after scoring a scorching 84 off 71 in the first ODI.
Devon Conway, Mitchell’s teammate, moved up three ranks to take the 29th spot while still scoring runs at the top.
In the ODI bowler rankings, India’s Mohammed Siraj has moved up five spots to share 15th place with Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
After a career-best 4/41 run performance, New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson moved up 27 spots to share 69th place with Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh.
