Cricket News Today: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul gain in latest ICC rankings, Rohit Sharma reflects on his match-winning innings and more- 20th January 2020

Virat Kohli

Hello and welcome to the daily round-up of all the major stories happening in the cricketing world today.

First up are the latest released ICC rankings released which saw Indian players climb up the ladder. Rohit Sharma said that he backed his natural stroke-making en route his century in the third ODI. Virat Kohli praised Labuschagne and was satisfied with a series-win with Steven Smith and David Warner in the opposition. And lastly, the Indian captain is confident ahead of their full tour of New Zealand.

Here is a look at those stories in detail.

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#1 Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma consolidate their positions at the top

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma consolidate their positions in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen

A 2-1 series victory against Australia helped India retain their second position in the ODI team rankings released by the ICC today. Indian captain Virat Kohli gained two rating points to further cement his position at the top of the ODI rankings with 886 points while Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma (868 points) has also gained three rating points to increase the gap over third-placed Babar Azam (829 points) to 39 points.

Shikhar Dhawan moved up by seven positions to be ranked 15th while KL Rahul also gained 21 places to be ranked 50th in the rankings. Ravindra Jadeja moved up two places in the bowler's rankings while also going up four places in the all-rounder's rankings to be ranked 27th and 10th respectively.

Full article: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma dominate; Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja advance up the ladder

#2 Consistent Rohit Sharma trusts natural game

Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant 119 as India beat Australia in the final ODI to win the series 2-1

Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma has stated that he trusted his instincts in the final match of the series as he went about his business nonchalantly to score his 29th ODI hundred.

Sharma scored 119 runs and added crucial runs with captain Virat Kohli (89) to put India on track in their pursuit of Australia's 287 runs in the decider. Sharma showed the right amount of aggression and calm to craft yet another ODI ton and walk away with the man-of-the-match award.

In the post-match press conference, he said:

"On days like this, if it comes off, it looks good."

"The first two games, I was trying to do something different, and it didn't come off. Today, I just wanted to be there, and I was able to stay till 35th or 36th over."

"It was an important game, the decider, and we wanted to come out and enjoy ourselves. To keep that Australian batting under 290 was a great effort. Once KL got out, it needed nobody better than the captain himself."

"The talk we had in the middle was that one of us wanted to keep going. At no stage, did we want the momentum to go towards the opposition. I was middling the ball well, and I said I would be the one to take the chances."

Full article: Backed my natural game in series decider, says Rohit Sharma

#3 High praise for Marnus Labuschagne from Indian captain

Labuschagne recently made his ODI debut against India

Indian captain Virat Kohli has praised Australia's latest sensation Marnus Labuschagne, calling him a player to look out in the future. In the post-match press conference, Kohli highlighted Labuschagne's positive attitude towards the game, his eagerness to play all the important situations of the game and take it head-on.

Kohli felt that his consistency puts him in line to perform in any format of the game as he is an honest student of the game and gives his 100 percent.

"He's a quality player. We were talking outside... he's very sure of what he wants to do. Again, body language, intent, he's there, he's running hard between the wickets, he wants the ball (in the field). I think he's got the right mindset to be a consistent player; to be a top player in the world for a while."

"He's shown that in Test cricket, he's shown that in one-day cricket, and I'm sure if he plays T20 cricket, he'll show the same clarity there as well."

Full article: Virat Kohli tips Marnus Labuschagne for greatness

#4 Virat Kohli happy after series victory against top-notch Australia

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma strung a brilliant partnership of 137 runs which was crucial in India's victory.

Indian captain Virat Kohli revealed that defeating Australia tasted better with David Warner and Steven Smith in the opposition. He stated that beating a top-notch Australian team gave the entire Indian squad immense confidence, especially with the New Zealand tour coming up form January 24.

The last time Australia toured India in early 2019, both Steven Smith and David Warner were still serving their ban for the infamous Sandpaper Gate scandal.

"Australia were even better than last time. There's Steve (Smith), David (Warner) and Marnus (Labuschagne). A quality bowling attack and they were really intense in the field too. We lost the last three in the last series, and coming back and winning the last two games after losing the first one, is very satisfying."

"We (Kohli and Rohit) spoke of stringing together a partnership and all Australia want are wickets and if we don't give them wickets we can chase 7-8 runs an over later on. We have that belief in our skill. Rohit played beautifully today, anchored the innings before I took over."

Full article: Series win more satisfying with Smith and Warner in opposition, reveals Virat Kohli

#5 Virat Kohli confident ahead of NZ tour

The Indian skipper wants his team to carry the momentum into the New Zealand tour

Indian captain Virat Kohli has sent an early warning to New Zealand as they prepare for a full tour of the country starting January 24. He reminded everyone of their performances in New Zealand last year and stated that putting the entire home team under pressure will help them enjoy their cricket on foreign land.

He said that he wanted nothing less than A-game from the entire team and also not rest on their laurels after winning a couple of games. According to him, consistency and getting the task done will top their agenda for a tough tour of New Zealand.

“We are taking a lot of confidence from our performance (in NZ) last year. We were very positive in how we played, very sure of what we wanted to do. The thing about playing away is if you’re able to put the home team under pressure, you can enjoy your cricket."

“You have to win at home, there’s that sort of feeling (for hosts). So if you bring out your A game, you can really put them under pressure. That’s what we did last year, squeezed them in the middle overs, picked up wickets, spinners were outstanding. Looking forward to take that same intensity into the series."

“Again, we want to bat well when we bat first and in case we’re defending a low total, we should be able to do that as well. We can’t afford to ease into the series after two games, because then it keeps getting tougher and tougher, so we’ll look to make a mark in the first game that we play."

Full article: Virat Kohli sends early warning to New Zealand