ICC ODI Rankings: De Villiers strengthens hold on top spot while Imran Tahir drops down to fifth spot

South Africa edges closer to India after the 3-2 series triumph

South Africa has retained its third position but has reduced second-ranked India’s advantage to two points in the ICC ODI Team Rankings following its 3-2 series victory, which concluded with a mammoth 214-run victory in Mumbai on Sunday. The Proteas went into the series on 110 points, five adrift of MS Dhoni’s men, but AB de Villiers’ side fought back after conceding early ground to clinch the series in a dramatic final game.

Meanwhile, as a consequence of the 3-2 home series defeat, Zimbabwe has stayed in 10th place, a fraction ahead of Ireland, with Afghanistan one more point behind following its historic inaugural series victory over a Test-playing country.

ICC ODI Team Rankings

Rank	Team	Points
1	Australia	127
2	India	114
3	South Africa	112
4	New Zealand	109
5	Sri Lanka	103
6	England	100
7	Bangladesh	96
8	West Indies	88
9	Pakistan	88
10	Zimbabwe	46
11	Ireland	45
12	Afghanistan	45

By stint of a series of impressive batting displays the top 10 has re-jigged and a number of Proteas batsmen have risen in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen. Skipper de Villiers retains his number one ranking, and is now 96 points clear of India’s Virat Kohli in second place, after scoring three centuries (104 not out, 112 and 119) in five matches.

De Villiers continues to lead the batsmen rankings after an impressive series against India

Hashim Amla has dropped three places to fifth while Dhoni has moved up two places to sixth and holds an 11-point advantage over his team-mate Shikhar Dhawan. There is a career high jump of seven places for François du Plessis who is level in 10th place by wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock who has vaulted 13 places after scoring 318 runs in the series, including 103 and a match-winning 109 in the decider.

There were also gains for Rohit Sharma (up three places to 12th) and career-high gains for Ajinkya Rahane (up 11 to 27th) and Farhaan Behardien (up 12 to 76th).

Following the series in Zimbabwe the following batsmen have also risen up the rankings; Sikandar Raza (up 14 to 40th), Sean Williams (up seven to 44th), Mohammad Nabi (up 19 to a career-high 47th) and Craig Ervine (up 19 to 61st), while Noor Ali Zadran has broken into the top 100 for the first time after vaulting 26 places to 93rd.

ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen

Rank	Player	Points
1	AB de Villiers	900
2	Virat Kohli	804
3	Kane Williamson	788
4	Tillekaratne Dilshan	781
5	Hashim Amla	776
6	MS Dhoni	741
7	Shikhar Dhawan	730
8	Ross Taylor	728
9	Glenn Maxwell	717
10	Faf du Plessis	715
	Quinton de Kock	715

In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Australia’s Mitchell Starc has returned to the top of tree as Imran Tahir has slipped four places in the top 10. Dale Steyn has dropped one place to sixth, although Morne Morkel has climbed three places to eighth, and is now six points behind Mitchell Johnson, after claiming seven wickets for 132 runs in three matches.

Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped a place to 10th, while a number of other bowlers have made significant gains across both series including Akshar Patel (up 19 to 28th), Amit Mishra (up 13 to 32nd), Dawlat Zadran (up 69 to a career-high 34th), Mohit Sharma (up four to 44th) and young Proteas paceman Kagiso Rabada has risen 58 places to a career-high 49th after being the joint-leading wicket taker in the series alongside Steyn with 10.

There were career-high placements for Afghanistan duo Mirwais Ashraf (up 10 to 56th) and Hamza Hotak (up 56 to 84th).

ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers

Rank	Player	Points
1	Mitchell Starc	713
2	Sunil Narine	709
3	Trent Boult	705
4	Shakib Al Hasan	690
5	Imran Tahir	688
6	Dale Steyn	682
7	Mitchell Johnson	672
8	Morne Morkel	666
9	Saeed Ajmal	655
10	Ravichandran Ashwin	640