Virat Kohli is on a roll, and how! Days after he scored a match-winning 135 against South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi, the star Indian batter brought up his record-extending 53rd ton in the second match in Raipur.
Put into bat first, Kohli walked in at no. 3 after Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 14. He picked up from where he left in Ranchi, to bring up yet another century with seven fours and two sixes. He also shared a crucial 195-run stand for the third wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad who impressed with a superb 83-ball 105.
KL Rahul, too, played a solid hand, scoring 66* to help India to 358/5 in 50 overs. For the Proteas, Marco Jansen picked up 2/63, while fellow pacer Lungi Ngidi bowled an economical spell of 10-1-51-1.
Kohli has the most number of ODI centuries, with Sachin Tendulkar listed next with 51 tons. It was also the his 84th international ton, taking him one step closer to Tendulkar’s all-time record of 100 centuries (51 in Tests, 49 in ODIs).
It was also the 11th instance of the 37-year-old scoring back-to-back centuries in ODIs – the most by any player in the history of the format.
Kohli climbed to the number four spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings, thanks to the century in the first ODI, which helped India secure a 17-run victory over South Africa. He now has 751 ranking points, currently behind former Indian captain Sharma, who remains at the top with 783 points. New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell (766) and Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran (764) occupy the second and third positions.
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Kohli surpassed fellow Indian batsman and skipper Shubman Gill, who dropped to the fifth position as he was unable to play in the current series against South Africa due to a neck injury. Shreyas Iyer, who is currently recovering from an injury he picked up during the recent tour of Australia, retained the ninth position.
Rishabh Pant drops in ICC Test rankings
Among the Indian bowlers, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav climbed one spot to sixth place, courtesy his four wickets in the first match against South Africa.
In Test rankings, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal remains steady at the ninth spot, but Gill slipped one position, to number 12.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant also saw a drop in his Test ranking, moving down two places from 12th to 14th.
India's lead fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah continues to dominate the bowling charts, holding the number one position with 879 points. New Zealand's Matt Henry, who is in second place, has 846 points.
Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj moved down from 11th to 13th, while Yadav has slipped from 13th to 15th.
In the T20I rankings, Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy maintained their top positions.