Sri Lankan legends accused of match-fixing, MS Dhoni drops in ODI batsmen rankings and more

With the India-England Test series only a couple of days away, most of the cricketing world's eyes are set on the clash of the two sides. While there are talks about India's opening pair, Virat Kohli's faceoff with English fast bowlers is talked about as much.

However, amidst the hullaballoo of the five-match Test series, there have been some other important news as well which made the headlines today.

Latest ICC ODI rankings were released post the completion of West Indies-Bangladesh ODI series which the visitors won courtesy Tamim Iqbal's century in the decider. Chris Gayle equalled a world record and Sri Lankan legends were accused of match-fixing as well.

Let's now take a look at the biggest of headlines in cricket world today.

Chris Gayle equals Shahid Afridi's world record of most international sixes

The West Indian batsman has made a name for himself with his ability to clear the boundary at ease and has displayed it on numerous occasions and at various levels across the globe.

In the last match of the three-match series against Bangladesh, Gayle, en route a 63-ball-77 knock which saw him hit as many as five sixes, equalled Shahid Afridi's record of 476 international maximums.

The left-hander took as many as 443 matches and 513 innings across all three formats to reach the magical figure of 476 sixes, which is 0.86 maximum per innings. Afridi, on the other hand, had taken 524 matches and 508 innings, 0.93 sixes per innings, to reach the figure.

With the ODI World Cup in sight, Gayle has a golden opportunity to become the first batsman to hit 500 sixes in international cricket. Among active cricketers, MS Dhoni, with 342 sixes is second behind the West Indian. He is fifth on the all-time list behind Gayle, Afridi, Brendon McCullum (398) and Sanath Jayasuriya (352).

Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva accused of match-fixing

De Silva and Ranatunga in 1999

Thilanga Sumathipala, former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board President has accused Lankan legends Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva of match-fixing. “Arjuna and Aravinda were the names mentioned, they were alleged to have taken $15,000 from someone named Gupta,” he said.

Both Ranatunga and De Silva are two of the greatest cricketers to have played for the island nation. While the former captained the 1996 World Cup-winning Sri Lankan side, De Silva was the hero for his side in the final where he dismantled the Australian batting by picking three wickets and then returned to score a century and see Lanka through in the chase.

Previously, Ranatunga had accused Sumathipala of having links with bookies.

Kohli with a golden opportunity to overtake Steve Smith in Test rankings

England & India Net Sessions

Indian captain Virat Kohli has a golden chance to overtake Australia's Steve Smith on ICC Test batsmen rankings. The Australian batsman is currently serving a 12-month ban from the sport which he was handed in the aftermath of the Sandpaper Gate incident.

Kohli, on the other hand, is set to lead India in a five-Test series against England. He will have a task at his hand, however, as he had found the going tough when he toured England last, in 2014.

Smith, with 929 points, sits pretty at the top of the rankings, followed by Kohli who has 903 points. Kohli's counterpart in the upcoming Test series, Joe Root is third on the list with 855 points.

India U19 blow Sri Lanka U19 away in first youth ODI

Anuj Rawat scored a half-century (Image Courtesy: Indian Express)

India Under-19s defeated hosts Sri Lanka Under-19s by six wickets in the first match of the five-youth ODI series. After electing to bat first, the Lankans were dismissed for 143 by the 39th over of their innings.

For India, Ajay Dev Goud was the highest wicket-taker with three scalps to his name. Mohit Jangra, Yatin Mangwani and Ayush Badoni picked two wickets each while Siddharth Desai chipped in with a wicket as well. Nipun Malinga, Lanka's number nine was the top-scorer for them with 38 runs.

In reply, the Indians achieved the target with six wickets to spare. Anuj Rawat (50) scored a half-century while Sameer Choudhary chipped in with 31 runs to see the team through by the 38th over. The second youth ODI will be played on Thursday (2nd August) at Colombo.

Dhoni slides down to 15th in ODI rankings

England & India Net Sessions

Former India captain MS Dhoni has dropped a place in the ICC ODI rankings and is now placed 15th on the list after a sub-par series against England. Fakhar Zaman, the latest entrant to the ODI double centurions list, moved up eight places to the 16th spot.

Among Indians, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan held on to their respective positions. While the skipper is the top-ranked ODI batsman, Rohit is fourth on the list and his opening partner, Dhawan is tenth.