PTI
Dubai, Feb 21: India wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved up to second position overtaking Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the latest ICC Player Rakings for ODI batsmen.
The 25-year-old, who had briefly reigned the rankings charts last year, has just completed a successful four-match series against Sri Lanka, having scored 115 runs in two innings, including a match-winning 67 not out in the third ODI at Margao.
He averages 46.61 in ODIs with a remarkable career strike-rate of 98.49.
Ponting, who did not play in Australia's 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand which concluded on Tuesday, is in third position while his compatriot and stand-in captain Michael Hussey continues to occupy the top spot. Hussey is the only batsman currently holding more than 800 ratings points (817).
Dhoni's India team-mate Yuvraj Singh is up five places to 15th position, now just two places behind Rahul Dravid while Sachin Tendulkar slid one place from 19th position to barely manage his place in the top 20.
West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle has moved up two places to number five while other players on an upward move include Matthew Hayden (up 11 places to 23rd spot) and Stephen Fleming (up four places to 24th).
Following New Zealand's 3-0 clean sweep of Australia, Fleming's side has moved ahead of Pakistan into third place in the ICC ODI Championship, a timely boost for the team ahead of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
Despite its recent run of defeats, Australia still boasts four batsmen in the top ten.
South Africa's Shaun Pollock is now a phenomenal 157 ratings points clear at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
With his side now leading the ICC ODI Championship, Pollock is enjoying a timely peak in form with the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies now less than three weeks away.
The 33-year-old KwaZulu Natal all-rounder is now way out in front from Glenn McGrath of Australia in second, Pollocks Proteas team-mate Makhaya Ntini in third and Kiwi Daniel Vettori in fourth.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Chaminda Vaas, who incidentally shares a birthday with Vettori, is just one place behind the slow left-hander having moved up two places past Australia's Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.
Interestingly, Bracken has fallen from second place to eighth in the 25 days since Australia Day (26 January).
New Zealand's Shane Bond is also hitting his straps at the right time, following a good series against Australia. He is up three places to seventh spot in the latest LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
Spinner Harbhajan Singh, who lost one place to be at 13th spot, and paceman Ajit Agarkar, climbing three places to be 14th, were India's highest ranked bowlers.
Pollock is still number one in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders from Gayle in second place and England's Andrew Flintoff in third position. The only move in the top five is Jacques Kallis, who has gone up one place into fourth, past Sri Lanka veteran Sanath Jayasuriya.