Kohli tops ICC ODI batting chart, Dhawan in top-10

Dubai, June 13 (IANS) India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday reclaimed the top batting spot in the ICC One-day International (ODI) rankings surpassing his South African counterpart AB de Villiers and Australian David Warner.

Kohli, who had entered the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 22 points behind de Villiers and 19 points behind Warner, has leapfrogged the duo into the number one spot following knocks of 81 not out against Pakistan and 76 not out against South Africa.

The 28-year-old Indian, who is ahead of Warner by just one point, had enjoyed just four days at the top in January 2017, but will now be aiming to do better when he faces Bangladesh in the second semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has continued his love affair with the ICC Champions Trophy by returning to the top-10. The explosive southpaw has vaulted five places to 10th position following scores of 68 against Pakistan, 125 against Sri Lanka and 78 against South Africa.

Dhawan's rise means his team-mates Rohit Sharma and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have slipped one place each to 13th and 14th, respectively, while Yuvraj Singh has gained six places and is now on the 88th spot.

Among the bowlers, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has led the charge by vaulting 13 places to share 23rd spot with Afghanistan's Hamza Hotak. Umesh Yadav has gained two places and is now 41st, while Jasprit Bumrah is 43rd after rising three places.

However, India's spinners have slipped in the latest rankings with Ravichandran Ashwin dropping two places to 20th and Ravindra Jadeja falling three places to 29th.

Among the internationals, Australia's pace ace Josh Hazlewood has achieved the number one position in the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career.

England's Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett earned career-high rankings, with Stokes rocketing nine places to a career-high 20th place, whereas amongst the bowlers, Plunkett has jumped seven places to a career-best 9th spot. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has shot up nine places to 11th spot.

There is no change in the top five of the all-rounders' list, which is headed by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan. However, Stokes has gained one spot and is now sixth, while Jadeja has broken into the top 10 in eighth position after rising three places.

Meanwhile, there is no change in the rankings of the top three sides following 12 matches in the ICC Champions Trophy, though number-one ranked South Africa has dropped three points and second-ranked Australia has conceded one point.

However, England has swapped places with New Zealand and is now ranked fourth, three points ahead of the Black Caps.

In the upcoming matches, third-ranked India will have a chance to top the table. But for that to happen, it will not only want to face England in the final but also need to retain the title. In this scenario, Kohli's side will join South Africa on 119 points but will be ranked ahead of the Proteas by a fraction of a point.