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King Kohli hits 27-year peak in ODIs

India skipper earns seventh-highest ODI rating of all time, extends lead at top of ICC ODI rankings

Virat Kohli has received the highest ODI batting rating in 27 years, becoming the first Indian to move above 900 points under the ICC's historical system of rating players.

And he's also become just the second batsman in history to achieve a 900-point rating in both Test and ODI cricket at the same time.

Kohli scored 558 runs in the recent six-match ODI series against South Africa and was dismissed only three times, his tally including three centuries.

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In the latest ICC rankings revealed on Tuesday, Kohli extended his lead at the top of the rankings to a sizeable 65 points from AB de Villiers.

His ODI rating of 909 is the highest of any player since Australia's Dean Jones in 1991 and the seventh-highest in history; only Sir Viv Richards (935 in 1985), Zaheer Abbas (931 in 1983), Greg Chappell (921 in 1981), David Gower (919 in 1983), Jones (918 in 1991) and Javed Miandad (910 in 1987) have received a higher rating.

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Kohli's rise comes just weeks after Australian rival Steve Smith earned the second-highest Test rating ever, placing him second to Sir Donald Bradman.

After Smith contributed 76 and an unbeaten 102 in Australia’s draw against England in the fourth Magellan Ashes Test at the MCG, he moved to 947 ratings points to be 14 behind Bradman's all-time high of 961 points, set in 1948.

Smith previously shared second place with Englishman Sir Len Hutton on 945 points before gaining two points from his outstanding effort in Melbourne. 

Kohli, with a rating of 912, is currently the second-ranked Test batsman behind Smith (947) and is the second man after de Villiers to concurrently have a 900-point rating in both Tests and ODIs.

He is only the fifth man ever, along with de Villiers, Richards, Brian Lara and Hashim Amla, to top 900 in both formats during their career.

Kohli posted scores of 112, 46no, 160no, 75, 36 and 129no in the six matches against the Proteas to move to 35 career centuries and boost his average from 208 matches to 58.10.

Still just 29 years old, the right-hander is 14 hundreds away from equalling Sachin Tendulkar's ODI record of 49 centuries.

The latest rankings update provided plenty to celebrate for India, with paceman Jasprit Bumrah climbing three places to be the joint No.1 ODI bowler alongside Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, who has moved up eight spots after his starring role against Zimbabwe.

HIGHEST ICC ODI BATTING RATINGS

1) Vic Richards (WI) - 935 in 1985

2) Zaheer Abbas (Pak) - 931 in 1983

3) Grag Chappell (Aus) - 921 in 1981

4) David Gower (Eng) - 919 in 1983

5) Dean Jones (Aus) - 918 in 1991

6) Javed Miandad (Pak) - 910 in 1987

7) Virat Kohli (Ind) - 909 in 2018

8) Brian Lara (WI) - 908 in 1993

9) AB de Villiers (SA) - 902 in 2015

10) Hashim Amla (SA) - 901 in 2012

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CURRENT ICC ODI BATTING RANKINGS

1) Virat Kohli (Ind) - 909

2) AB de Villiers (SA) - 844

3) David Warner (Aus) - 823

4) Babar Azam (Pak) - 813

5) Joe Root (Eng) - 808

6) Rohit Sharma (Ind) - 799

7) Quinton de Kock (SA) - 783

8) Faf du Plessis (SA) - 782

9) Kane Williamson (NZ) - 777

10) Shikhar Dhawan (Ind) - 769

CURRENT ICC ODI BOWLING RANKINGS

=1) Jasprit Bumrah (Ind) - 787

=1) Rashid Khan (Afg) - 787

3) Trent Boult (NZ) - 729

4) Josh Hazlewood (Aus) - 714

5) Hasan Ali (Pak) - 711

6) Imran Tahir (SA) - 683

7) Kagiso Rabada (SA) - 679

8) Yuzvendra Chahal (Ind) - 667

9) Mitchell Santner (NZ) - 662

10) Mitchell Starc (Aus) - 658