Abhishek Sharma skyrockets to second spot in T20 batters' ranking
Dubai, Feb 5 (PTI): In-form India opener Abhishek Sharma leapfrogged 38 places to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters while his teammate Tilak Verma dropped a rung to the third place on Wednesday.
Abhishek produced the best innings of his fledging international career when he smashed a quick-fire 135 in the fifth and final T20 against England in Mumbai, leading India to a thumping 4-1 series win.
Abhishek's innings came off just 54 deliveries and was adorned with 13 sixes. It was the highest score by an Indian men's player in the shortest format.
As a result, the 24-year-old zoomed to the second spot in the latest ranking.
Australia star Travis Head continues to lead the T20I batters' chart, but Abhishek is just 26 rating points behind him following his record-breaking effort at Wankhede.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav is placed fifth and all within striking distance of Head, while his India teammates Hardik Pandya (up five rungs to equal 51st) and Shivam Dube (up 38 spots to 58th) also moved up the rankings chart following some good scores against England.
It's a similar story on the bowlers' rankings with spinner Varun Chakravarthy moving up three places to joint second with Adil Rashid on the back of his 14 wickets and player-of-the-series effort against England.
Fellow spinner Ravi Bishnoi (up four places to sixth) also climbed the list after taking five wickets in the series against England. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh also finds himself in top 10 at ninth place.
West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein re-claims his spot as the No.1 bowler after he lost the mantle to Rashid a week earlier.
A host of Australian players gained ground in the latest Test rankings following their impressive effort in defeating Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs during the recent first Test in Galle.
Stand-in skipper Steve Smith gained three places to move up to fifth following his 35th Test century, while opener Usman Khawaja climbed six places to 11th after contributing his highest Test score of 232 during the romp.
Yashavi Jaiswal remained on the fourth spot in the Test batters list, which is being headed by England's Joe Root, followed by Harry Brook and New Zealand's Kane Williamson.
Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from back spasm, maintained his top spot. He was recently named ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year and ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is the other Indian in top 10 at the ninth spot.
South Africa's Kagiso Rabada jumped a spot to the second while Australia captain Pat Cummins is at third position, followed by Josh Hazlewood and Noman Ali of Pakistan.
Veteran Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has improved two spots to jump to sixth overall and pacer Mitchell Starc is up two places to 12th following their efforts in Galle.
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MP traffic cop suffers burn injuries during Congress' effigy-burning protest; probe ordered
Maihar (MP) (PTI): A traffic policeman suffered severe burn injuries in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar district on Friday after his uniform caught fire during Congress' effigy-burning protest targeted at some ministers, prompting the police to file an FIR and launch an investigation into the incident, an official said.
The protest took place at Agrasen Tiraha in Maihar city, he said.
Traffic policeman, Vikram Pathak, who was on duty at that time, suffered severe burn injuries as petrol carried in a bottle by the protesters fell on his uniform and it caught fire.
Congress workers were burning an effigy while raising slogans against state ministers Rajendra Shukla (Health), Vijay Shah (Tribal Affairs), and Kailash Vijayvargiya (Parliamentary Affairs).
While the opposition party has been targeting Shah for his controversial remarks made last year against Col Sofia Qureshi, it has been demanding the resignations of Shukla and Vijayvargiya over the deaths of people due to contaminated water in Indore.
As the protesters tried to set the effigy on fire, petrol got sprinkled on Pathak's uniform, and it caught fire. The blaze quickly spread to his back and lower body, causing panic during the protest, eyewitnesses said.
A video of the incident also went viral, showing a stampede-like situation soon after the fire.
The police personnel and locals present at the scene acted swiftly and extinguished the fire using blankets and water. The injured traffic policeman was immediately taken to Maihar Civil Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment, the official said.
Doctors said he suffered severe burn injuries, but is out of danger.
Taking serious cognisance of the matter, the police launched an investigation, he said.
An FIR has been registered based on the video footage, and the role of those involved in the protest is being investigated, the official said.
Police are also investigating the circumstances under which flammable material was used during the effigy- burning protest.
Following the accident, additional police force was deployed at the protest site and the surrounding area.
Superintendent of Police Awadhesh Kumar and Collector Rani Batad described the incident as serious and assured strict action against those involved in it.
"A demonstration was being carried out by the Congress, and during the effigy-burning, some petrol was spilled on the uniform of Vikram Pathak, the in-charge on duty, after which it suddenly caught fire and caused burn injuries to him," SP Kumar said.
An investigation is being conducted on the basis of the video, he said.
Madhya Pradesh BJP chief Hemant Khandelwal said in Bhopal, "I have spoken to the policeman and offered my prayers. There is a way to protest. Whatever happened is not right.
