Indian skipper Virat Kohli has now become the World number 1 batsman in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings. The refreshed list was released on June 13 after the last round of league matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 concluded on June 12. Earlier Virat Kohli was in the third position with 22 points and was behind South Africa skipper AB de Villiers (who was at the top spot) and Australia’s David Warner who occupied the 2nd position. But after his superb knocks of 81 not out against Pakistan and 76 not out against South Africa in the Champions Trophy 2017, he surpassed de Villiers and David Warner.
In the list of bowlers, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has become number bowler in ICC ODI rankings. He has become the first Australia bowler to top the bowling charts since October 2015. The Aussie speedster is currently the highest wicket-taker in the on-going ICC Champions Trophy 2017. He had taken nine wickets in three matches. However, Australia are now out of the tournament.
Apart from Shikhar Dhawan, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is back in the top 10 ICC rankings. He has continued his best form in the ICC Champions Trophy and has secured the 10th position after he played three back to back fabulous knocks of 68 against Pakistan, 125 against Sri Lanka and 78 against South Africa.
Team India kickstarted their tournament with a bang as they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 124 runs in their first game. In the second game against Sri Lanka, despite a good batting performance, they lost it by 7 wickets. And then, it was the third match against South Africa which was a do-or-die game. If India would have lost that match, they would have been eliminated from the tournament. But ultimately, they played a phenomenal cricket and defeated the AB de Villiers & Co. by 8 wickets and became the first team to enter the semi-finals from Group B.
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