ICC RANKING:MS DHONI AGAIN RECLAIMS TOP SPOT

India captain moves ahead of Chris Gayle following first ODI against Sri Lanka .South Africa’s AB de Villiers rejoins the top 10 batsmen rankings; Johan Botha breaks into top 20 bowlers after impressive series Down Under India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has reclaimed the top rank in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen from the West Indies Chris Gayle.Dhoni’s 61 not out against Sri Lanka in his side’s first ODI of a five-match series has enabled the 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman to regain his place at the head of the table. There will be ample opportunity for Dhoni to put daylight between him and the chasing pack as the rest of the series unfolds in Colombo.Further down the batting table there have been a few noticeable movements, including South Africa’s AB de Villiers who has shot up 10 places to rejoin the top 10 for the first time since August 2008. De Villiers made a strong impression with the bat during South Africa’s 4-1 series win over Australia appearing in four of the five ODIs and averaging 63.66 for the series.It wasn’t all bad news for Australia as Michael Hussey has climbed two places to return to the top five in the batsmen’s rankings. Hussey scored 78 in the fifth and final ODI in Perth as his side went down by 39 runs.Meanwhile, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has slipped two places to 14th while Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara has risen one place to joint-16th with Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt.India’s Gautam Gambhir has climbed four places to claim the number 20 spot in the rankings. It is the first time the 27-year-old has been in the top-20 since August 2008 when he reached 19th place during a previous tour to Sri Lanka.

South Africa’s Jean-Paul Duminy and Hashim Amla have also made inroads on the table. Duminy who has had an exceptional series with the bat, in both Tests and ODIs, has climbed eight places to take 29th position while his team-mate Amla has risen a substantial 34 places after an impressive performance in Australia. Amla’s 97 in Perth and series average of 49.75 has pushed the 25-year-old right-handed batsman up to 37th place.

Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura has also climbed the batsman rankings, some 11 places to go joint 47th with Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful.The Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers has seen no change in the top five with the table still headed by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori followed by Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Kulasekara. However, further down the top 20 there has been plenty of movement, most noticeably from South Africa’s Johan Botha.The 26-year-old off-spinner has shot up 13 places in the rankings to take 13th place, the highest of his career so far. Botha, who captained the Proteas to victory over Australia, took a total of eight wickets in the five matches at an average of 23.50 and an impressive economy-rate of exactly four runs per over.India’s Zaheer Khan has climbed two places in the rankings to go joint-ninth, level with England’s Andrew Flintoff.Australia’s Mitchell Johnson has slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since July 2008. The 27-year-old fast bowler has dropped seven places to go 14th, one place below Botha.Outside of the top 20, South Africa’s Dale Steyn is steadily climbing the table, gaining 10 places to take 35th spot after his four-match appearance in Australia. Five places below Steyn, in 40th, is Zimbabwe’s Ray Price. Price has also climbed 10 positions in the table after making a good start for Zimbabwe in their five-match series in Kenya.There has been no change in the top-ranked player in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan still top of the table. However, Kallis has dropped out of the top five and has been replaced by Gayle.