Sehwag rockets into top 10 of ODI rankings

India master blaster Virender Sehwag and champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar are the biggest movers in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings after splendid performances in the recent series against New Zealand.

Sehwag, who scored 299 runs against the Black Caps, has jumped nine places to sixth position in the latest ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, which is still headed by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is the first time in nearly six years that the New Delhi-born batsman has occupied a place in the top 10. During this period Sehwag, whose series aggregate included a whirlwind 125 not out from just 74 balls in the fourth ODI at Hamilton, dropped as low as 30th place, a mark he stood at in June 2008.

Tendulkar has also made a movement in the right direction as his series scores of 20, 61 and 163 not out have helped him vault eight places to 13th spot. Tendulkar held the top spot in the listing as recently as March 2008.

However, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir have both headed in the wrong direction in the rankings, dropping one and four places respectively. Singh now sits in fourth place while Gambhir shares 16th spot with South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs.

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has fallen off top spot and now sits in fifth place. Vettori managed just two wickets in the series which was dominated by India batsmen.

Vettori's drop has benefitted Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara who, for the first time in his career, has surged to the top of bowlers' rankings. Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken is in second place while Kyle Mills of New Zealand is third.

In the ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders, India's Yuvraj Singh has entered the top five for the first time in his career. He has leapfrogged West Indies captain Chris Gayle and Jacob Oram of New Zealand to share third place with Pakistan's Shoaib Malik. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan leads the field with Andrew Flintoff in second place.

In the ICC ODI Championship, India has gained two ratings points for its 3-1 series win. It has lifted it to 122 rating points and puts it just two ratings points behind second-placed Australia and three behind leader South Africa.

In contrast, New Zealand has conceded two ratings points for the series loss and is now only one rating point ahead of Pakistan which goes head-to-head with Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi next month.

Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 16 March):