Dubai,  14 Jan

India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli has reclaimed the top position in the ICC ODI rankings for batters after his impressive half-century against New Zealand in the opening match of the three-ODI series in Vadodara.

The 37-year-old replaced Rohit Sharma, who slipped to third place, marking Kohli’s return to the summit for the first time since July 2021.

India registered a four-wicket victory over the Black Caps on Sunday, with Kohli anchoring the chase through a composed 91-ball 93. The innings also helped him become the second-highest run-scorer in men’s international cricket, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli has been in prolific form in the 50-over format in recent months. His last five ODI innings include an unbeaten 74 against Australia, scores of 135, 102 and 65 not out against South Africa, followed by the 93 against New Zealand.

The former India captain first reached the top of the ODI batting rankings in October 2013. The current stint is his 11th spell at number one. Overall, Kohli has spent a cumulative 825 days at the top, the most by any Indian batter and the 10th highest overall in the history of the rankings.

India’s ODI captain Shubman Gill retained his fifth position in the latest update, while Shreyas Iyer remains the other Indian batter inside the top ten.

New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell moved up a spot after his aggressive 84 off 71 balls in the first ODI and is now just one rating point behind Kohli, who has 785 points.

Mitchell’s teammate Devon Conway climbed three places to reach 29th as he continues to deliver consistent starts at the top of the order.

In the ODI bowler rankings, India pacer Mohammed Siraj rose five spots to 15th, tied with Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson jumped 27 positions to joint 69th following his career-best figures of 4 for 41, sharing the spot with India pacer Arshdeep Singh