ICC ODI team rankings: South Africa narrow in with India after the series win

ICC ODI team rankings: South Africa narrow in with India after the series win: India has retained its 2nd position in the latest ICC ODI Teams Rankings. However, South Africa has reduced the margin of points between the second-ranked India in the ICC ODI Team Rankings. South Africa won the 5-match ODI series 3-2 against hosts India after a mammoth 214-run victory in a dramatic final at Mumbai on Sunday.

The team rankings did not witness any major change. Zimbabwe has stayed at the 10th place, a fraction ahead of Ireland as a consequence of the 3-2 home series defeat. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have narrowed the points margin significantly.

The Proteas batsmen performed extremely well in the series. Therefore, as a result, they have improved their ranking drastically. a number of Protea batsmen rose in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.

Skipper AB de Villiers retained his number one ranking in the chart with 900 rating points. He has a strong margin of 96 points with India’s Virat Kohli, who is at the second place. De Villiers scored 3 centuries (104 not out, 112 and 119) in five matches and ended the series with 358 runs. Hashim Amla had a forgettable series and has dropped three places to fifth.

François du Plessis, who was at 17th pace before the series jumped a career high 7 places and Quinton de Kock rose 13 places to come level in 10th place. De Kock had a dream series after scoring 318 runs in the 5 match series. Farhaan Behardien gained 12 places and is placed at 76th.

Indian Skipper Dhoni has moved up two places to 6th while Shikhar Dhawan is placed just below him at 7th position. There were also gains for Rohit Sharma is at 12th place (up by 3 spots) and career-high rankings for Ajinkya Rahane 27th place (up by 11 spots).

Just a day before India-South Africa final, Afghanistan created history by upsetting the hosts Zimbabwe to win the 5 match series 3-2.

Sikandar Raza has gained 14 places and is at 40th rank while Sean Williams is up by 7 places to 44th in the ranking. Craig Ervine also jumped 19 places to 61st in the ODI players ranking.

Afghan players have also reaped the benefits for their superb performance in the series. Mohammad Nabi, who was the highest run-getter in that series with 223 runs, is up by 19 places to a career-high 47th spot in the ranking while opener Noor Ali Zadran, who was the 2nd highest run-scorer in the series with 200 runs, has broken into the top 100 for the first time. He jumped 26 places to 93rd position.

In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Australia’s Mitchell Starc has returned to the top of tree as Imran Tahir has slipped four places in the top 10. Dale Steyn has dropped one place to sixth, although Morne Morkel has climbed three places to eighth, and is now six points behind Mitchell Johnson, after claiming seven wickets for 132 runs in three matches.

Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped a place to 10th. A number of other bowlers have made significant gains across both series. Akshar Patel gained 19 places, is at 28th while Amit Mishra jumped to 32nd with a gain of 13 places.

Dawlat Zadran peaked to a career-high 34th with a jump of 69 places in the ranking. There were also career-high placements for Afghanistan duo Mirwais Ashraf 56th (up by 10 places) and Hamza Hotak 84th (up by 56 places). Mohit Sharma (up four to 44th) and young Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has risen 58 places to a career-high 49th after being the joint leading wicket-taker in the series alongside Steyn with 10.

To Check the latest ICC ODI Team Rankings (click here)

To Check the latest ICC ODI Player’s Rankings (click here)