8JULY2019 STATE OBSERVER
LONDON: Team India skipper Virat Kohli has retained the top position among batsmen after scoring five half-centuries in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 but his deputy Rohit Sharma has bridged the gap in the latest update to the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings following his blistering successive centuries in the league stage of the 10-team tournament.With 442 runs at an average of 63.14, Kohli has gained one point and reached 891 points while Rohit has jumped 51 points to only six after becoming the first batsman to score five centuries in the World Cup. His 885 points going into the semi-finals are a career-high.Among other notable updates to the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, Pakistan’s Babar Azam has jumped up to third place, just behind his career-high second place achieved in June 2018, and Australia opener David Warner re-entering at number six after a highly successful group stage that saw him aggregate 638 runs, just nine less than leading scorer Rohit.The consistency with which New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been battling has helped him rise four places. He is now back into the top-10 at the eighth place while Australia’s Usman Khawaja has risen to a career-high 15th place. England openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow have both risen in the rankings with Roy reaching a career-best 13th place.
