DUBAI: Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman bagged massive gains in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings as he jumped to second spot after his thrilling performance in ongoing home series against New Zealand.Â
The left-arm batter jumped eight spots to become a closest ranking challenger of skipper Babar Azam, who continued to reign the ranking with 887 points.Â
Fakhar Zaman has commenced Pakistan’s ongoing ODI series in a blaze of glory, with the 33-year-old scoring back-to-back centuries to put his side in control of the five-match series.
The left-hander scored 117 in the series opener in Rawalpindi and then backed it up with a magnificent unbeaten 180 in the second match at the same venue and was duly rewarded with an eight-spot jump to second behind Babar on the latest rankings update.
Fakhar has scored three ODI centuries on the bounce and rises to a career-best rating of 784 rating points and is now the closest challenger to his skipper despite trailing by 103 rating points.
It means Pakistan now have three players in the top five on the latest ODI batting charts ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup later this year, with Imam-ul-Haq remaining in fifth place behind his two teammates and South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and India’s Shubman Gill.
New Zealand’s stars didn’t miss out completely, with Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell the big winners following their good starts to the series in Pakistan.
Latham hit 98 in the second match of the series and moves up three places to equal 29th, while Mitchell scored a brilliant 129 in the same contest to rise from outside the top 100 to 57th on the ODI batting rankings.
