SOME NEW SHOTS

World Cup winning heroes take over cricket, as Neeraj and Sindhu hold on to their No. 1 crowns. But Manu, Vinesh and Lakshya are new favourites

- SUHANI SINGH

1 VIRAT KOHLI 39.3 [41.4]

Indians following sports had a rocky ride in the last six months. Until early July the nation was on cloud nine, with the Men in Blue winning its second Twenty-20 World Cup title. Four heroes from that unbeaten side made it to the India Today Mood of the Nation ranking of top five male cricketers - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. The exception is M.S. Dhoni, whose aura remains undiminished. For 49 per cent of MOTN respondents, WC Glory wasn't a one-man show but a team effort. The same five women cricketers feature in the top five this time as in February, with Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur leading the charge, and the retired, but ever-popular, Mithali Raj dropping to No. 4.