Australia has a chance to attain top position in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings for the first time when they take on Pakistan in a three-match series in the United Arab Emirates from Wednesday.
The mission though is not easy since only a 3-0 victory will lift the reigning 50-over World champions to become the eighth side to attain top ranking in the T20I format. England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Windies are the other sides to have been top-ranked.
Australia, who scored an easy seven-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates on Monday, are presently third with 123 points, just one point behind India, while Pakistan is perched at 132 points. A series sweep will take Australia to 130 points and bring Pakistan down to 127 points while Australia will move ahead of India to the second position with a 2-1 series win.
On the other hand, Pakistan needs to win just one of the three matches to remain in top place.
Series scenarios:
- Pakistan win 3-0: Pakistan 136 points, Australia 118 points
- Pakistan win 2-1: Pakistan133, Australia 122
- Australia win 2-1: Pakistan 130, Australia 126
- Australia win 3-0: Australia 130, Pakistan 127
There would also be several top-ranked players looking forward to the series with enthusiasm.
Australia captain Aaron Finch leads the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings with Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman aiming to bridge the 49-point gap.
Glenn Maxwell, the top-ranked all-rounder, would be looking to improve his ranking among batsmen as he is currently in sixth place with 761 points, only four behind Babar Azam of the opposing side.
In the bowlers’ list, Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan gets a chance to bridge the gap with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who is the top-ranked bowler. Andrew Tye also has a chance to move up from his current sixth position.
In between, Sri Lanka and England will play a one-off T20I which could see England lose one position with a defeat. They will lose four points and go down to 113 points and fifth position in such a scenario even as Sri Lanka will gain two points but remain ninth. On the other hand, there will be no change in positions with an England win, England going up to 117 points and Sri Lanka slipping to 87 points.
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Upcoming matches:
Pakistan v Australia:
24 October – 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
26 October – 2nd T20I, Dubai
28 October – 3rd T20I, Dubai
Sri Lanka v England:
27 October – Only T20I, Colombo
MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings (as of 23 October):
Rank Team Points
1 Pakistan 132
2 India 124
3 Australia 123
4 England 117
5 New Zealand 116
6 South Africa 114
7 Windies 106
8 Afghanistan 92
9 Sri Lanka 88
10 Bangladesh 77
11 Scotland 62
12 Zimbabwe 55
13 UAE 50
14 Netherlands 50
15 Hong Kong 42
16 Oman 39
17 Ireland 35
*Nepal have 26 rating points but need to play one more match before being ranked
MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings (as of 23 October):
Batsmen (top 20)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge S/R Highest Rating
1 Aaron Finch Aus 891 45.60 162 900 v Zim at Harare 2018
2 Fakhar Zaman Pak 842! 30.76 144 842 v Aus at Harare 2018
3 Lokesh Rahul Ind 812 49.71 155 854 v Eng at Old Trafford 2018
4 Colin Munro NZ 801 33.51 164 805 v Pak at Wellington 2018
5 Babar Azam Pak 765 53.00 127 881 v Win at Karachi 2018
6 Glenn Maxwell Aus 761 32.94 163 801 v NZ at Auckland 2018
7 Martin Guptill NZ 746 34.40 133 792 v SA at Hamilton 2012
8 Alex Hales Eng 710 32.67 136 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014
9 D’Arcy Short Aus 690*! 41.88 132 690 v Pak at Harare 2018
10 Rohit Sharma Ind 678 32.59 137 681 v Ban at Mirpur 2016
11= Evin Lewis Win 671* 33.06 157 780 v Eng at Durham 2017
Virat Kohli Ind 671 48.88 136 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014
13 M. Shahzad Afg 647 31.22 135 706 v Ire at Greater Noida
14 Jason Roy Eng 641! 21.74 142 641 v Ind at Bristol 2018
15 Kane Williamson NZ 634 31.33 121 760 v Ban at Napier 2017
16 Jos Buttler Eng 614! 27.10 138 614 v Ind at Bristol 2018
17 Hashim Amla SA 602 33.60 132 682 v Ban 2017
18 H. Masakadza Zim 599 27.07 117 698 v Ban at Khulna 2016
19 Eoin Morgan Eng 596 28.71 132 872 v Ind at Old Trafford 2011
20 Joe Root Eng 595 35.77 129 750 v Win at Kolkata 2016
Bowlers (top 20)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Eco Highest Rating
1 Rashid Khan Afg 793 12.40 6.01 816 v Ban at Dehradun
2 Shadab Khan Pak 723 18.00 6.72 769 v Sco at Edinburgh
3 Ish Sodhi NZ 700 19.33 7.43 739 v Pak at Wellington
4 Y. Chahal Ind 685 18.97 7.85 706 v Ban at Colombo
5 Mitchell Santner NZ 665 21.37 7.14 731 v Pak at Wellington
6 Andrew Tye Aus 658! 20.89 8.70 658 v Pak at Harare 2018
7 Samuel Badree Win 655 21.07 6.17 855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
8 Imran Tahir SA 653 14.95 6.77 795 v NZ at Auckland 2017
9 Adil Rashid Eng 639 28.82 7.68 640 v Ind at Cardiff 2018
10 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 633 21.06 6.74 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
11 Mohammad Nabi Afg 630 24.25 7.13 638 v Ban at Dehradun 2018
12 Liam Plunkett Eng 627 25.04 7.81 643 v Ind at Cardiff 2018
13 Mohammad Amir Pak 609 19.98 6.83 700 v Aus at Edgbaston 2010
14 David Willey Eng 607 24.67 8.44 615 v Ind at Cardiff 2018
15 Trent Boult NZ 599 21.18 8.53 622 v Aus at Sydney 2018
16= Chris Jordan Eng 598 28.71 8.82 628 v Ind at Nagpur 2017
17. Rahman Ban 598 17.44 7.38 695 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017
18 Billy Stanlake Aus 570*! 23.43 8.33 570 v Pak at Harare 2018
19 Mark Watt Sco 568 26.36 7.53 573 v Pak at Edinburgh 2018
20= Jasprit Bumrah Ind 566 19.93 6.79 764 v Eng at Bengaluru 2017
All-rounders (top five)
Rank Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 Glenn Maxwell Aus 366 396 v Eng at Melbourne 2018
2 Mohammad Nabi Afg 313 323 v Ban at Dehradun 2018
3 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 309 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
4 JP Duminy SA 225 276 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
5 Marlon Samuels Win 222 321 v SL at Mirpur 2014
*indicates provisional rating
! indicates best rating