Virat Kohli's heroics against Pakistan catapults him to ninth spot in ICC T20I Rankings for batters

Sydney, Oct 26: Star India batter Virat Kohli's match-winning performance against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 has helped him take a giant leap in the latest ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen. Kohli's masterclass has helped the legendary batter break into the top ten. While Afghanistan spin sensation Rashid Khan has once again climbed to the top of the table in bowlers' rankings.

Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 to help India register a memorable final-ball victory over arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday (October 23). The 33-year-old hit six fours and four giant sixes during his glorious 53-ball stay and duly moved up five spots to ninth on the latest set of player rankings that were released by the ICC on Wednesday (October 26).

Senior Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Rizwan remains on top of the batter list, but there is a new challenger to the title as New Zealand opener Devon Conway rises three places to second following his unbeaten 92 against Australia at the T20 World Cup.

Conway flayed the Australian attack to all parts of the SCG during his 58-ball innings as he and Finn Allen (42 off 16) combined to put the reigning T20 World Cup champions to the sword in the first match of the Super 12s on Saturday.

The innings sees Conway jump past India's Suryakumar Yadav, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and South Africa veteran Aiden Markram and within striking distance to challenge Rizwan for top billing at a career high rating of 831 rating points.

Allen too is on the move, with his swashbuckling knock against the Aussies helping him improve a whopping 17 places to equal 13th overall on the list for batters.

Meanwhile in the bowlers' rankings, star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has overtaken Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood to re-claim his place as the No.1 T20I bowler.

Rashid earns top billing on the back of his strong start to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup for Afghanistan, where he bowled superbly during his side's opening match against England in Perth.

Rashid took the key wicket of young gun Harry Brook and finished with tidy figures of 1/17 from his four overs as Afghanistan commenced their T20 World Cup campaign with a five-wicket loss to England.

Hazlewood has three wickets from two matches so far for Australia, but the 31-year-old has been uncharacteristically expensive during spells against New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the tournament.

Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga drops three places to sixth on the latest list for T20I bowlers, while England seamer Sam Curran moves up an eye-catching eight spots to eighth overall following his record-breaking five-wicket haul against Afghanistan.

Curran picked up England's first ever five-wicket haul at a T20 World Cup and ended the match with brilliant figures of 5/10 to rise to a career high rating of 657 points.

Just 55 rating points separates the top 10 bowlers on the latest rankings update, with India veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar another new name slipping into contention following an impressive performance against Pakistan on Sunday.

The veteran seamer picked up the tidy figures of 1/22 from his four overs against Pakistan and has been rewarded with a two-spot jump to 10th on the updated rankings list.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan remains the top ranked all-rounder following the latest update to the rankings, with Afghanistan counterpart Mohammad Nabi staying in second and just 14 rating points behind.