Kolkata: In what can be called an unique feat, Virat Kohli and Mithali Raj-the respective captains of the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams have climbed to the number one spot in the men’s and women’s ODI batting rankings.
Mithali led her team to the World Cup final, and her skill and temperament also made the highest run-getter in the history of women’s ODI cricket. On the other hand, it has been the finesse and class of Virat Kohli, which has been one of the prime reasons for the success of the Men in Blue in recent times.
The prolific right-hander smashed two centuries in three ODIs against New Zealand and also overtook Ricky Ponting’s tally of 30 ODI tons. He now has 32 ODI hundreds and stands just 17 short of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli thus replaced star Proteas batsman AB De Villiers who had claimed the number one position 10 days ago.
The 28-year old, who scored a total of 263 runs in the three matches at an average of 87.86 against New Zealand now has a total of 889 rating points, which is the highest ever by an Indian so far. He also became the fastest to score 9000 ODI runs as he achieved the feat in 194 innings, bettering De Villiers’s 205 innings.
“The previous highest points tally of 887 was managed by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 and by Kohli earlier this year,” an ICC statement said.
Jasprit Bumrah, who has done wonders with the Indian team has climbed up to the third spot in ODI bowling rankings.
Mithali on the other hand, reached the number one spot in the women’s batting rankings after Australian star batswoman Meg Lanning missed out on the recent ODI series against England due to injury.
Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is at the second spot followed by New Zealand’s Amy Satterwaite at third position. Veteran Jhulan Goswami also occupies the second spot in the ICC ODI women’s bowling rankings. South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp tops the rankings.
Gavaskar praise for Kohli
Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Virat Kohli after India’s thrilling 2-1 series win against New Zealand. The 28-year-old hit a fantastic hundred in the decider to help India post a huge total on the board.
“Virat’s consistency with the bat is beyond phenomenal. Against New Zealand, there was no question of him being denied a hundred. He got denied against the Australians but remember he learnt from that. He was not trying to run the ball to third man (against New Zealand), like he got out against the Australians in two of the five matches,” said Gavaskar in an interaction with NDTV.
He further added, “Key to Virat Kohli’s consistency is that he learns from his mistakes and to then avoid those. That is what Virat keeps on doing. There will be some same dismissals because that’s what cricket is all about but if you have made a mistake and you try to avoid it. The bowlers will get you out because they will bowl you the odd good ball, that is accepted. But the thing that he learns from errors and avoids them, that is why he is so consistent.”