Kohli moves up to No 4 in ODI rankings; Axar, Shami also make gains
Dubai, Mar 5 (PTI): India batting superstar Virat Kohli on Wednesday moved up a spot to reach fourth place in the ICC ODI rankings for batters after his match-winning 84 against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal.
Kohli’s rise, however, coincided with skipper Rohit Sharma dropping down two positions to fifth as South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen also moved up one spot to take the third.
India vice-captain and opener Shubman Gill continues to hold the top spot followed by Pakistan’s Babar Azam at second.
Among other Indians, spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel and pacer Mohammed Shami also moved up in the rankings for all-rounders and bowlers respectively.
Patel moved up to 13th spot with career-high 194 rating points in the latest release as per the ICC among all-rounders, which saw Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai replacing compatriot Mohammad Nabi in the process.
Omarzai now has a total of 296 rating points and moved up two positions to claimed the No 1 ranking.
With eight wickets so far in the Champions Trophy, Shami, meanwhile, moved up three positions to reach 11th with 609 rating points.
New Zealand’s Matt Henry (649) claimed the third spot after moving up three positions among bowlers behind Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana at the top spot and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj at second.
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Ikkis box office Day 1: Agastya Nanda’s war drama earns ₹7 crore, beats trade projections
Mumbai: Ikkis, the latest war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, has delivered a stronger-than-expected opening at the box office, earning an estimated ₹7 crore net in India on its first day, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
The film, starring Agastya Nanda, opened in theatres on January 1 across nearly 4,000 screens nationwide. Trade analysts had earlier projected a modest opening of ₹2–2.5 crore, especially given stiff competition from Dhurandhar, which continues to perform strongly at the box office.
Despite these expectations, Ikkis exceeded projections by nearly three times, helped largely by positive word of mouth. As per the report, the film had around 12% occupancy in the morning shows across the country, which jumped to 35% by afternoon, and 47% in the evening, indicating growing audience interest as the day progressed.
While Dhurandhar dominated the day with a reported ₹15 crore collection, trade observers note that Ikkis holding its ground amid such competition is a promising sign, particularly for its performance over the extended opening weekend.
Ikkis is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. The film chronicles Khetarpal’s exploits and bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Agastya plays Khetarpal in the film.
While screen legend Dharmendra appears as his father in his final performance, Dharmendra died a little over a month before the film’s release. Ikkis is also among the final films of the late Asrani, who also died late last year. The film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Deepak Dobriyal.
