New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell has reclaimed the top spot in the ODI batting rankings, pushing Virat Kohli down to second after a stellar series against India. Mitchell’s back-to-back centuries powered New Zealand to a historic 2-1 ODI series win, also earning him the No.1 ranking with 845 points, ahead of Kohli’s 795 in the latest ICC update.
The New Zealander is now comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, which includes Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Babar Azam. This is the second time Mitchell has reached the top of the ODI rankings, though his previous stint lasted just three days in November last year before Rohit moved ahead of him.
Mitchell enjoyed a remarkable series, amassing 352 runs, the highest ever by a New Zealand batter in a three-match ODI series and the third-highest overall. Only Babar Azam’s 360 against the West Indies in 2016 and Shubman Gill’s 360 against New Zealand in 2023 stand above his tally.
With four ODI hundreds now to his name against India, Mitchell sits just one short of South African great AB de Villiers’ record of five centuries. His consecutive scores of 130-plus also equal Martin Guptill’s record of four such innings, the most by any New Zealander in ODI cricket, underlining his rapid rise to the top of the rankings.
In 54 innings, Mitchell is yet to record an ODI duck, which is the second-longest all-time streak, behind only Kepler Wessels, who was astonishingly never removed for naught across his 105 ODI innings between 1983 and 1994.
What makes the Kiwi’s cricketing rise so unique is the fact he only emerged on the international scene as a 28-year-old in February 2019, against India in Wellington. His Test debut came later that year, aged 29, when England toured New Zealand. And his first ODI appearance for the Black Caps wasn’t until he was 30, two years after he first tasted international cricket in the game’s shorter format.
In other movements, Glenn Phillips also made significant gains following the series. His 106 off 88 balls in the decider at Indore, part of a 219-run partnership with Mitchell, the second-highest for New Zealand in ODIs, saw him jump 16 places to 20th in the ODI batting rankings. Phillips also rose 14 spots to joint 31st in the all-rounders’ list, which continues to be led by Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai.
New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell climbed six places to 33rd in the ODI bowling rankings after consistent performances in the first two matches of the series against India. The top of the bowling charts remains unchanged, with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan leading on 710 points, followed by England’s Jofra Archer on 670.
Rashid also moved up two places to second in the latest T20I bowling rankings after picking up two wickets in Afghanistan’s opening match against the West Indies in Dubai. His teammate Mujeeb Ur Rahman rose two places to joint 14th among T20I bowlers, while Ibrahim Zadran climbed five spots to reach 15th in the T20I batting rankings.