In-form Indian opener Rohit Sharma broke back into the top-five of the International Cricket Council rankings, scaling to fifth after the latest list was released on Monday. Captain Virat Kohli, despite having a quiet series against Australia, held on to the No 1 spot. Sharma moved up four places after finishing as the leading scorer in the five-match series, which India won 4-1 on Sunday, PTI reported.
Sharma’s 296 runs in the series, which included a 125 in the last match in Nagpur, contributed significantly to India’s convincing victory over the world champions. It also helped the home side grab the No 1 position in the team rankings. Sharma has now on reached career-best 790 rating points but his highest ranking has been third, which he attained in February 2016.
Sharma’s makeshift opening partner Ajinkya Rahane has moved up four places to reach 24th while Australia’s opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner also made forward strides. Finch gained nine slots to reach 17th while Warner has closed in on Kohli, bridging the pre-series gap of 26 points to just 12 as he moved to 865 points.
Other batsmen moving up include Kedhar Jadhav (up by eight places to a career-best 36th), and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (up 74 places to 54th). In the bowlers’ rankings, South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir has regained the top spot after Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood missed the India series due to a side strain and lost 18 points in the process. Tahir is now just four points ahead of Hazlewood at 718 points.
Meanwhile, India’s left-arm spinner Axar Patel has reached a career-best seventh after moving up three places. Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (up 24 places to 75th) and Kuldeep Yadav (up by nine places to 80th), who have been impressive as India’s new limited-overs duo, also climbed made forward strides. In the list of all-rounders led by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, England’s Ben Stokes has moved into the top five and is placed at fifth.