Dubai: India skipper Virat Kohli and his limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma will end 2019 as NO. 1 and 2 in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. They maintained their places following a fine showing against the West Indies.
Rohit broke Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year-old record for most runs in a calendar year by an opener across formats Sunday while Kohli reaffirmed his supreme status by finishing as the leading run-getter in 2019.
Kohli amassed 2,455 runs across all the three formats as his 85 helped India beat the West Indies by four wickets in the series-deciding third ODI Sunday.
Coming into the third and final ODI against the West Indies played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Rohit was only nine short of eclipsing the former Sri Lankan swashbuckler, who tallied 2,387 runs in 1997. While scoring 63 Rohit eclipsed the record. Rohit also smashed five hundreds in the World Cup.
Other Indian batsmen, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, have made notable gains in the rankings. Rahul’s 185 runs in the series lifted him 17 places to 71st place while Iyer’s 130-run aggregate sees him move from 104th to 81st.
West Indies opener Shai Hope has entered the top 10 after showing fine form in the three-match series in India. Also moving up in the batting rankings are his teammates Shimron Hetmyer (up six places to 19th) and Nicholas Pooran (up 33 places to 30th). Fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell (up six places to 30th) and Keemo Paul (up 35 places to 104th) have also gained in the latest rankings update.
PTI
