Virat Kohli regains the top spot, breaks Sachin Tendulkar's record

Indian skipper Virat Kohli not only scored his 32nd hundred in ODI cricket but got a notch closer to legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s 50 centuries in the same format. India went on to register a close win in a nerve-wracking contest and in the process, Kohli moved up to the top spot of the ICC Rankings for batsmen in one-day international (ODI) cricket.

Kohli is currently standing at the top with a career-high rating of 889 points, breaking the previous record held jointly by Kohli and Tendulkar (887 points). Ten days ago, Kohli had lost the top spot to South Africa’s maestro AB de Villiers, who now finds himself at the second place with 872 points. Australian opener David Warner is at the third place with 865 points. Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni is at the 11th spot while New Zealand’s Tom Latham’s impressive show helped him reach his career-best ranking of 23.

India’s longest streak and the Kiwi challenge

The current rankings have been updated post India’s home series against New Zealand, the last match of the South Africa-Bangladesh series and the last two matches of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series. The Indian no.3 has had a fantastic series where scored a hundred in the first game in Mumbai and notched up one more in the final. It also helped India record its longest series winning streak ( 7 series).

Kohli, who won the man of the series award credited the visiting side for challenging them and push them to play their best cricket. “Credit to NZ. They challenged us in all three games, and forced us to play our best in every game. Credit to the skill and character they possess. Congratulations to them for playing that way. I decided that I let the bowler do what he wants do do, and that’s why I was calm. There was dew too, just glad the boys pulled through. To be fair to the bowlers: the wicket eased out nicely. The ball was coming onto the bat beautifully. Our last 15 overs, the bowling slowed down, so we were probably 25 runs short. It was difficult to get our shots away. But glad the bowlers came out on top: it was like a knock out game for us, and the boys showed their character. My aim is for the team to win the game and the series, and if I personally do well then it’s an added bonus. (On the records) These things are hard to ignore since we keep hearing these, but the aim is to always make the team win from any situation.”