• AB blasts back to the top

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    AB de Villiers’ ruthless blast of 176 in the second ODI against Bangladesh helped propel him to the top of the ODI rankings.

    His highest ODI knock, which included 15 fours and seven sixes and came off only 104 balls, has also helped South Africa edge India at the top of the ICC ODI Team Rankings by taking a 2-0 winning lead in the present three-match series.

    The latest rankings, which take into account the first two matches of the South Africa-Bangladesh series and the first three matches of the ongoing Pakistan-Sri Lanka series in the United Arab Emirates, sees de Villiers climb to the top of the ODI table for the 14th time in his career.

    The master blaster, who has leapfrogged Australian David Warner and India captain Virat Kohli, had first attained top position on 30 May 2010. The number of days he has spent at the top is second only to the retired Windies great Vivian Richards. De Villiers has now been at the top for 2,124 days, while Richards was No 1 for 2,306 days.

    Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla, who hogged the batting in the first ODI, sharing a stand of 282, have also moved up: De Kock rose three places to fifth and Amla two up to ninth.

    Imran Tahir was tipped off the top bowling spot by Hasan Ali, whose haul of five for 34 in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi lifted him six places to No 1. Kagiso Rabada, as a consequence, also slipped one place. Andile Phehlukwayo, on the other hand, has risen 30 places to 52nd.

    South Africa and India are both on 120 points, with South Africa ahead on decimal points. South Africa can reach 121 points if they complete a 3-0 series win over Bangladesh, but India will overtake them if they win the opening match against New Zealand, to be played the same day as the last South Africa-Bangladesh match, on 22 October.

    ODI RANKINGS:

    Batting
    1 (+2) AB de Villiers (SA) 879 pts; ave: 54.25
    2 (-1) Virat Kohli (India) 877 pts; ave: 55.13
    3 (-1)  David Warner  (Australia) 865 pts; ave: 44.94
    4 (+2)  Babar Azam (Pakistan) 833 pts; ave: 56.30
    5=  (+3) Quinton de Kock (SA) 802 pts; ave: 45.52
    5= (-1)  Joe Root (England) 802 pts; ave: 50.00
    7 (-2)  Rohit Sharma (India) 790 pts; ave: 44.03
    8 (-1)  Kane Williamson (NZ) 779  pts; ave: 46.98
    9 (+2) Hashim Amla  (SA) 770  pts; ave: 51.25
    10 (-1)  Faf du Plessis (SA) 754 pts; ave: 42.96

    Bowling
    1 (+6) Hasan Ali  (Pakistan) 743 pts; ave: 20.66; econ: 5.19
    2  (-1) Imran Tahir (SA) 726 pts; ave: 23.87; econ: 4.66
    3 (-1) Josh Hazlewood (Australia) 714 pts; ave: 23.85; econ: 4.69
    4 (-1) Kagiso Rabada (SA) 703 pts; ave: 25.98; econ: 5.07
    5 (-1) Mitchell Starc (Australia) 684 pts; ave: 20.13; econ: 4.81
    6 (-1) Jasprit Bumrah (India) 671 pts; ave: 22.10; econ: 4.75
    7(-1)  Trent Boult (NZ) 665 pts; ave: 25.48; econ: 5.00
    8 (-1) Akshar Patel (Ind) 663 pts; ave: 29.88; econ: 4.36
    9 (-) Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) 647 pts; ave: 14.74; econ: 3.97
    10= (-) Sunil Narine (W Indies) 646 pts; ave: 26.46; econ: 4.12
    10= (-) Liam Plunkett (England) 646 pts; ave: 30.22; econ: 5.77
    18 (+1) Morne Morkel (SA) 590 pts; ave: 24.48; econ: 4.94

    Photo: Chris Rocco/BackpagePix

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