Lasith Malinga rises in T20I rankings after double hat-trick

Sri Lanka quick Lasith Malinga, who picked up four wickets in four balls against New Zealand, has jumped 20 places to No.21 on the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Rankings for Bowlers.

The updated rankings were released on Saturday, 7 September, after the end of the three-match T20I series, which New Zealand won 2-1.

Malinga, who became the first bowler to capture four wickets in four successive balls in both ODIs and T20Is, finished with figures of 4-1-6-5, as Sri Lanka notched up a consolation 37-run win in Pallekele. It was his fifth hat-trick overall in international cricket. With the first wicket of his spell, Malinga became the first male bowler to 100 T20I wickets.

New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, who top-scored for his side in the series with 103 runs in three innings, jumped a massive 43 places to reach No.80 in the batting rankings and broke into the top 20 on the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings for All-rounders. He top scored for New Zealand in the second T20I, with his 46-ball 59 steering the chase of 162, and helping the visitors take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Babar Azam continues to rule the T20 rankings

Kusal Mendis, who scored one more than de Grandhomme to lead the series tally, gained 33 points, and is now occupying the 40th spot. Grandhomme couldn’t open his account in the last match, being castled by Malinga for a golden duck.

Babar Azam continues to be the top-ranked T20I batsman, while Glenn Maxwell exchanged his third place with second-ranked Colin Munro after the update.

In the bowling charts, left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner jumped six places to climb into the top 10, and is currently at No.5. Tim Southee, captaining the team in Kane Williamson’s absence, leaped 14 rungs to seal the 15th spot in the list, led by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.

The update also includes the 11 games from the Romania Cup. Romanian all-rounder Pavel Florin, who gained immense internet popularity and support of some of cricket’s biggest names, officially entered the ICC player rankings at No.688. The 32-year-old represented Romania in four T20Is last month, picking up three wickets.

Here are ICC’s latest bowling rankings

Here are ICC’s latest batting rankings