Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan closes in on India's Yadav for top batter ranking
Cricket
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam holds onto third place on the latest T20I rankings for batters
DUBAI (ICC) – Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan has been rewarded for his excellent finish in the recently completed T20I series against New Zealand by making ground on India star Suryakumar Yadav at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
Rizwan compiled an unbeaten 98* during the fifth and final match of the T20I series against the Black Caps and the right-hander ended the series as Pakistan's leading run-scorer with a total of 162 runs.
That helped Rizwan close the gap on Suryakumar to less than 100 rating points, with the dynamic India star still leading the way with 906 rating points while the Pakistan veteran rises from 798 to 811 points and maintains second place on the rankings.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam holds onto third place on the latest T20I rankings for batters, although the right-hander dropped 13 rating points to 756 points after he managed just 19 runs in the final match of the series.
The big mover on the latest rankings for T20I batters was New Zealand dasher Mark Chapman, who moved up 45 places to career-best 35th overall, following his match-winning century in that final game of the series in Rawalpindi.
Another big mover for Pakistan was Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 36 in the final match. He moved six places to joint-38th, his career-best position and is the third-highest ranked Pakistan batter.
One of Pakistan's most impressive performers during that tied series was all-rounder Imad Wasim, with the experienced lefty producing some excellent efforts with both bat and ball.
Imad scored 31 in the fifth and final game of the series, but it was his eight wickets at an average of 10.37 during the series that really stood out and the 34-yer-old was rewarded on both the bowler and all-rounder rankings.
Imad jumped inside the top 100 on the list for bowlers and also rises 44 spots to equal 24th on the latest rankings for T20I all-rounders.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan remains on top of the T20I bowler rankings, while Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan occupies the premier position for all-rounders.
