Virat Kohli Eyes ODI Batting Crown After Stellar Century Against South Africa

Kohli's Remarkable Rise in ICC Rankings

In Dubai, Indian cricket star Virat Kohli is just 32 rating points shy of surpassing his teammate Rohit Sharma to claim the top spot in the ODI batting rankings. This comes after Kohli notched his 83rd international century, as reflected in the latest ICC Rankings update released on Wednesday.

During the first ODI of India's three-match series against South Africa in Ranchi, Kohli scored a remarkable 135 runs off 120 deliveries. This performance propelled him up one position, now placing him fourth among ODI batters in the current ICC Men's Player Rankings.

Kohli's rating now stands at 751 points, putting him just behind Rohit Sharma, who leads the ODI batter rankings. Kohli had dominated the rankings for over three years until he was overtaken by Pakistan's Babar Azam in April 2021.

Rohit Sharma has extended his lead at the top, outpacing New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell in second place and Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran in third. Kohli's recent performance has allowed him to move ahead of Shubman Gill, securing the fourth position and narrowing the gap with Sharma.

In addition to Kohli's success, veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also made strides, moving up to sixth among ODI bowlers. The T20I all-rounder rankings saw a shift following the recent tri-series in Pakistan.

Pakistan clinched the tri-series title with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final, allowing opener Saim Ayub to reclaim the top position in the T20I all-rounders rankings.

Ayub had initially held the top spot at the beginning of October but was recently surpassed by Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza. However, his performance in the tri-series final, where he scored 36 runs and took a key wicket, helped him regain his position.

Teammates Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz also saw improvements in their T20I bowling rankings, thanks to Pakistan's success in the tri-series. Nawaz, who was named Player of the Tournament, climbed three spots to fourth among all-rounders.

Sri Lanka's Kamil Mishara shone in the tri-series, scoring 169 runs across four innings, which propelled him from outside the top 100 to 18th among T20I batters.

Bangladesh players also made gains following their recent 2-1 series win against Ireland. Parvez Hossain Emon rose 21 places to 38th, while Towhid Hridoy moved up five spots to share 42nd in the T20I batter rankings. Mustafizur Rahman climbed two spots to eighth among T20I bowlers.

South African players enjoyed significant advancements after their Test series victory over India. Marco Jansen was the standout performer, rising in both bowling and all-rounder rankings due to his impressive showing in the 2-0 series win.

Jansen achieved a career-high rating, climbing five spots to fifth among Test bowlers, while teammate Simon Harmer surged 13 places to 11th after taking 17 wickets and earning Player of the Series honors.

Jansen also advanced four spots to second in the Test all-rounders rankings. Other teammates, including Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton, and Tristan Stubbs, also saw notable increases in their Test batter rankings.