Kohli, Rahul jump spots in ICC T20 rankings post West Indies hammering

After a stunning victory over West Indies on Wednesday to seal the series 2-1, the ICC T20 rankings reflected a change as Indian players gained points. Skipper Virat Kohli, who starred in the first match of the series with a match-winning knock of 94 runs and came out all guns blazing on Wednesday to score 70, jumped five positions on the rankings to claim the number 10 spot.

Opener KL Rahul, who led the team to a mammoth total of 240 in the third T20 with his knock of 91 also leapfrogged three positions to grab the sixth spot on the rankings. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma dropped a place to the ninth position despite his blazing knock of 71 runs. Pakistan's Babar Azam currently tops the ICC T20 batting rankings. 

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Rohit Sharma enters the 400-club

Rohit Sharma proved why he is arguably the best in white-ball cricket especially in T20Is as he reached a new milestone in the series-deciding third and final T20I against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Rohit Sharma, who is the only player to score more than three centuries (4) in T20 cricket became the first Indian batsman to hit 400 sixes in international cricket.

Rohit is the only Indian to have entered the 400-club. Meanwhile, Sharma also is the third-highest six-hitter in international cricket. He is currently behind West Indies power-hitter Chris Gayle (534) and Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi (476).

Apart from Rohit Sharma, former skipper, MS Dhoni is the other Indian with the most number of maximums in international cricket with 359 big hits to his name.

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Kohli Pleased About India Finally Pulling Off Big Score Batting First

India captain Virat Kohli said the best aspect of the series-clinching win over West Indies in the third and final T20 International was that his team finally managed to post a big score while batting first. While India has been good at chasing for a while now, they have been making a conscious effort to amass big totals batting first ahead of the T20 World Cup next year. 

Kohli led from the front smashing an unbeaten 70 off 29 balls as India beat West Indies by 67 runs in the third T20 on Wednesday. For someone who is more of a boundary-hitter, Kohli hit seven sixes in his whirlwind knock.

"We had spoken a lot (big first innings score). It was about going out on the field and executing. I had the opportunity to do something different, which I don't usually do. I told KL to stay on till the end, and said I'll try and smash a few," said Kohli at the post-match presentation.

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