AB is still No 1

MELBOURNE: Australia opener David Warner has India’s second-ranked Virat Kohli firmly in his sights following a stellar performance in the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series, which concluded on Friday with Australia winning 3-0 against New Zealand.

Warner finished as the leading run-scorer with 299 runs in three matches, which has not only helped him consolidate his No 3 ranking but also allowed him to cut Kohli’s lead from 62 points to just two points. South Africa’s AB de Villiers is the No 1 ranked batsman on the world ODI batting rankings, 13 points ahead of Kohli.

The fight for the No 1 ranking will resume next month when Kohli is likely to feature in the three-match series against England (January 15-23), Warner is expected to take the field against Pakistan in the five-match series (January 13-26) and De Villiers is expected to lead South Africa in the five-ODI series against Sri Lanka (January 28-February 10).

Meanwhile, New Zealand opener Martin Guptill and Australia’s trio of Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazelwood have all achieved career-high rankings.

Guptill has been rewarded for his 193 runs in the series with a rise of two places, which has put him in sixth position, Smith has jumped six places to 10th following a series contribution of 236 runs, Marsh has gained three places to 22nd position, while Hazlewood has vaulted 12 places to join Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi in 11th position.

Trent Boult, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets, has retained his No 1 ranking. He leads South Africa’s Imran Tahir by eight points, with West Indies’ Sunil Narine one more point behind in third position. – ANA