Published: Feb 01, 2016, 04:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 01, 2016, 04:34 PM (IST)
After his tremendous performances in India’s three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia, wherein he struck three consecutive half-centuries, Virat Kohli has taken the lead in ICC Twenty20 International (T20I) rankings for Batsmen with top spot. Kohli has moved ahead of Aaron Finch, who too was among the run-scorers in the recently-concluded series. Kohli scored 90 not out, 59 and 50 not out in the three T20Is, amassing 892 points to move ahead of Finch by 47. Though Finch did score 44 and 47 runs in first and second T20I matches which helped him to move ahead by 14 points, his hamstring injury in final T20I pegged him back and gave an opportunity to Kohli. His total points now remains 868. READ: Virat Kohli scores 12th T20I half-century in 3rd T20I against Australia
Suresh Raina moved up to 13th spot while Rohit Sharma went up by four spots to gain the 16th, while Yuvraj Singh claimed 20th spot. England’s Alex Hales is now at third spot in ICC Rankings for Batsmen in T20I cricket. After India whitewashed Australia in three-match T20Is, India moved to top in ICC T20I rankings for teams. India are already world No. 1 in Test cricket.
Australia, who were at the second spot in the ICC Rankings in T20Is teams, slipped down to the eighth spot. Kohli’s two half-centuries in One-Day International (ODI) helped him to move to second spot in ODI rankings, while South Africa’s AB de Villiers now just behind the Indian batsman. READ: Virat Kohli reaches 5,000 T20 runs in 3rd T20I against Australia
Meanwhile, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson — who had an impressive return to international cricket — went ahead by 12 points in rankings after his unbeaten 124 against India in third T20I. David Warner dropped to 18th position. In the bowling spree, Ravichandran Ashwin is now on third spot with 692 points and Ravindra Jadeja at 18th spot.
New Zealand are now at the second spot in ODI team rankings with their 2-0 win against Pakistan and with their upcoming series against Australia, they will look to take top spot. The Kiwis need 16 points to surpass Australia in the ICC Rankings for the teams in ODIs. The three-match series between New Zealand and Australia begins February 3. The two teams will also be involved in a three-match Test series, the Trans-Tasman Trophy 2015-16.
