Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's two unbeaten centuries in
the Chappell-Hadlee Series gave him his career best rating points of 832 even
as he continued his domination at the top of the ICC rankings for the
ODI batsmen, released today.
Ponting not only ensured his team's 2-0 victory against New Zealand,
he further consolidated his position at the top of the table by increasing the
gulf between him and other batsmen.
The second position is held by his teammate Andrew Symonds who has 778
points followed by Kevin Pietersen at 738.
Only five batsmen in the current decade have enjoyed a better
rating than him which includes Michael Hussey (863 in 2007), Matthew
Hayden (854 points in 2003), Sourav Ganguly (844 in 2000), Sanath
Jayasuriya (838 points in 2003) and Kevin Pietersen (834 points in 2007).
Also moving up the ranking ladder was Adam Gilchrist,
who scored a quickfire half-century in the first ODI against New Zealand to
go up three places to 11th spot.
The lone Indian in the top-10 list is Sachin Tendulkar at seventh spot after
gaining one spot.
In the ICC bowlers rankings, New Zealand captain Daniel
Vettori has dropped out of the top five after going wicketless in the Chappell-Hadlee
series. South African Shaun Pollock leads the table with no Indian figuring
in top-20.
The series win has also strengthened Australia's position at
the top of the table and are now six points clear of South Africa in
second place. New Zealand has slipped one point but remains third followed by
India at 110.
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