Virat Kohli has secured a position in the most recent ICC ODI rankings, following his remarkable 52nd century in this format, which is also his overall 83rd century, achieved during the series opener in Ranchi against South Africa. Kohli has ascended to the No. 4 spot among ODI batters, drawing closer to the top position. His advancement has resulted in Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill dropping to fifth place due to his ongoing absence from the format, a consequence of a neck injury sustained during the Test series.

Kohli has reached 751 rating points, now just 32 points behind the top batter, his fellow countryman Rohit Sharma. Rohit has maintained his lead, increasing his points to 783 after a brisk 57-run innings in the series opener in Ranchi. Although Rohit's gain was modest, the focus will be on maintaining this strong performance throughout the remaining ODIs in the series.

For Kohli, this performance marks a powerful continuation of his form, reminiscent of his return in Australia during the series finale in Sydney. Ranchi witnessed a classic display from Kohli, who started strongly, aggressively taking on the bowlers, hitting sixes with ease, before slowing down to stabilize his innings and then accelerating again to finish with 135 runs. This innings was crucial not only for Kohli but also for India, especially as South Africa came close to surpassing it, driven by Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch.

Other batters making gains include stand-in India captain KL Rahul and South Africa's Matthew Breetzke. Rahul, batting at six, delivered a rapid 60 runs off just 55 balls, helping lift India's total to 349 in the final 10 overs. As a result, Rahul climbed a couple of spots to joint-14th place. Meanwhile, Breetzke, boasting an impressive average of 68 after just 10 ODIs, continued his excellent form by scoring 72 runs, which propelled him up 17 places to joint 30th position.

With a few more matches remaining, further changes in the ODI rankings for both batters and bowlers are anticipated during the India-South Africa series.

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