Rohit Sharma closes gap on Virat Kohli in No.1 ranking for ODI batsmen

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been in prime form in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Kohli, the Indian cricket team skipper has blasted five consecutive fifty-plus scores while Rohit has created history by becoming the first individual to score five centuries in a single edition of the World Cup. During the game against Sri Lanka, Rohit created history by equaling Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of World Cup tons with six while he also went past 600 runs. With 647 runs and the game against New Zealand coming up, Rohit has a chance to break Tendulkar’s record tally of runs in a single edition as well as the number of centuries.

Rohit’s form has seen him surge in the ICC rankings for batsmen in ODIs. Before the start of the World Cup, the gap between Kohli and Rohit was 36 points. However, five centuries later, the gap is just six points with Kohli still on top with 891 points with Rohit not far behind with 885. Kohli's 442 runs at an average of 63.14 in the ongoing 50-over showpiece, which includes five half-centuries, have seen him gain one point to reach 891 points.

There have been many other notable movements in the batting list, with Pakistan's Babar Azam going up to the third place, just behind his career-high second place achieved in June 2018. Australia opener David Warner has re-entered the top 10 at number six after a highly successful group stage at the mega-event that saw him aggregate 638 runs, just nine less than leading scorer Rohit.

India is ruling the roost in the ODI rankings with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah extending his lead at the top from 21 points to 56 points after grabbing 17 wickets in the nine league matches at the World Cup. New Zealand's Trent Boult remained in the second spot after a memorable league phase that included a hat-trick against Australia, the first-ever in ODI cricket at Lord's.

In the ICC ODI Team Rankings, England remains in the first position at 123 points but only ahead of India on decimal points. New Zealand and Australia are similarly both on 112 with the former fractionally ahead, and South Africa fifth on 110 points.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Rohit Sharma has scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup.
• Rohit Sharma has equalled Sachin Tendulkar's tally of six World Cup tons.
• Rohit Sharma is just 27 runs away from breaking Tendulkar's tally of runs in a single edition.