Kohli retains top spot, Rahul, Rohit, Ashwin improve ICC T20I rankings

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli has maintained his number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 batsmen rankings released on Tuesday, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has returned to the top five in the bowlers' list, climbing up to fourth spot from seventh.

Other Indians making an upward movement in the rankings are Rohit Sharma and promising opener Lokesh Rahul.

Rohit vaulted five spots to 17th while Rahul rose 67 places to be placed 31st after his unbeaten century in the first of the two-match series against the West Indies in Lauderhill, US.

The 24-year-old Rahul scored an unbeaten 110 in India's loss to West Indies in the first game.

With the second match of the series being called off due to wet conditions, reigning T20 champions West Indies won the T20 series 1-0, which helped the Caribbean side narrow the gap with India in the team rankings.

West Indies, which was six points behind second-placed India's 128 points before the series, is now just one point adrift at 125 with India on 126. New Zealand lead the table with 132 points.

West Indian opener Evin Lewis' 49-ball 100 in the first T20 has helped him move up 288 slots to reach 51st position.

In the bowlers' ranking, Ashwin moved northwards rising three spots to be placed at the fourth position while pacer Jasprit Bumrah dropped a place to third in the table led by West Indian leg-spinner Samuel Badree.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (67th) and Mohammad Shami (82nd) were the others to move up the bowlers' rankings for India.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, playing his first match since the ICC World Twenty20 in 2014, has re-entered the rankings at 104th position with three for 24 in the second match.

--IANS

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