South Africa retain their numero uno status in ODIs after series victory against the Kiwis

South Africa has retained their numero uno status in the ICC ODI Rankings after winning the 5 match ODI series against New Zealand by a 3-2 margin. They had regained the No.1 ranking a month back after thrashing the listless Sri Lankans 5-0. The Proteas remained on 119 points, a solitary point ahead of Australia. New Zealand and India with 113 points and 112 points are at No.3 and No.4 respectively.

The final encounter at the Eden Park in Auckland was a must-win encounter for the Proteas if they had to hold on to their No.1 ranking and they did exactly what the doctor had ordered them. If South Africa had lost the match and with that the series, they would have slid to No.2 and Australia would have edged past them on decimal points.

The Aussies, on the other hand, lost their last ODI series against the Kiwis by a 2-0 margin which affected their rankings. New Zealand continued to impress and despite their loss in the ODI series, they will take a lot of positives from the tournament where they challenged the mighty visitors in each and every department of the game.

India won their last two ODI series against New Zealand and England narrowly by 3-2 and 2-1 margins respectively. They haven’t played too many limited overs cricket in the recent past which has affected their ranking in the long run. With the Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in a few months time, the Men in Blue doesn’t have any limited overs series lined which will surely be a concern for Virat Kohli and Co.

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MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 4 March, after New Zealand-South Africa ODI series)