Proteas batting superstar AB de Villiers has regained top ODI batting spot on the ICC rankings after leading the scoring charts during the recently completed 3-2 series win against New Zealand away from home.
De Villiers scored 262 runs in five innings in the series win over the Black Caps‚‚ which included the highest score of 85 in the third match at Wellington‚ and he has overtaken Australia’s opener David Warner at the top of the rankings.
De Villiers reclaimed the top spot within two months of losing it to India captain Virat Kohli‚ who has been in scintillating form over the past 12 months.
De Villiers is on 875 points‚ four points ahead of Warner and 23 clear of Kohli on the rankings that were released on Friday morning.
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The rankings took into account the performances in 15 ODIs including West Indies’ 3-0 loss to England‚ Afghanistan’s 3-2 win over Zimbabwe and Ireland’s 2-0 verdict over the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 33-year-old De Villiers is placed at the top of the rankings for the 10th time since first taking the spot in May 2010 and he has never been ranked outside the top five since September 2009.
For bowling‚ Imran Tahir remains top of the ODI pile‚ ahead of Sunil Narine of West Indies‚ while ever-improving Kagiso Rabada‚ who is widely regarded as the best young paceman in the world‚ is placed fifth.
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In the Test arena‚ Rabada has overtaken Dale Steyn‚ who has been troubled by injuries over the past few months‚ to fifth place with Vernon Philander occupying the ninth position.
With the bat in Test matches‚ Hashim Amla leads the way for South Africa in seventh place while Quinton de Kock and De Villiers are placed 10th and 11th respectively.
In the T20 arena‚ Faf du Plessis is the highest-ranked South African in sixth place with Tahir the number one-ranked among the bowlers.
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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