January 14 was a massive day for Virat Kohli as reclaimed the top spot in the ICC ODI batting rankings after almost four years. While the rankings don't necessarily mean a lot especially for a veteran like Kohli, the fact that he stormed back to the top at the age of 37 shows that there is a lot more fuel left in the tank.
This ranking update happened on January 14 in the morning with the second ODI scheduled in the afternoon. Kohli had racked up two centuries and three fifties in his last five ODI innings with the most recent fifty-plus score being a knock of 93. Given that he only trailed teammate Rohit Sharma by eight points before the start of the series, the no.1 ranking was inevitable in this incoming update.
However, Kohli's reign at no.1 might just last two games at the most, with the third ODI scheduled on Sunday (January 18) in Indore. The veteran batter only managed 23 runs at Rajkot before inside-edging a Kristian Clarke delivery onto the stumps. Meanwhile, Rohit suffered another failure as he made just 24.
Amidst these failures from India's stalwarts, New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell racked up a magnificent unbeaten 131 to guide his side to a series-levelling victory. It must be noted that Mitchell had also smashed 84 in the series opener in Vadodara. Prior to the start of the series, Mitchell stood at no.3 in the rankings and was only 15 points of the top spot.
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After the recent update, Mitchell narrowed that gap down to just one point to Kohli. Currently, Kohli stands at 785 while Mitchell is at 784 and Rohit has fallen from 781 pre-series to 775. These points were before the second ODI and if there were to be another update before the final game, Mitchell would certainly be ranked no.1 in that list.
Mitchell could still make it to the list as long as Kohli doesn't make a big score, say a hundred, in the Indore ODI and even if that happens, the Kiwi can take top spot as long as he doesn't register a very low score. For now, it seems highly likely that Kohli's stay at no.1 may have ended.
