Pakistan move up to eighth in ODI rankings

Hafeez jumps three places to 29 in batting after Sri Lanka series.

DUBAI: Pakistan moved into the eighth position on the ICC ODI Team Rankings table after they dominated Sri Lanka 3-2 in the five-match series, which concluded in Hambantota on Sunday.

Azhar Ali’s men advanced to 90 points, two ahead of the West Indies, and now have seventh-placed Bangladesh firmly in their sights.

As a consequence of the series defeat, Sri Lanka remain in fifth place but dropped three rankings points, which means that sixth-placed England have an opportunity to gain ground on Angelo Mathews’ men when they face Australia in a five-match ODI series from September 3-13.

Mohammad Hafeez was the highest run-getter in the series and his tally of 273 runs in five games (including a highest score of 103, as well as innings of 70 and 54) has propelled the 34-year-old three places to 29th in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen. There were also notable gains for his teammates Ahmed Shehzad (up five places to 30th) and skipper Azhar (up eight places to a career high 42nd).

In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan has improved his ranking by a place and is now level with teammate Hafeez on 16th after claiming four wickets in the series for 257 runs. Another upward mover for the visitors in the aftermath of the series was Yasir Shah who has vaulted 44 places to a career high 97th.

Shakib retains his number one spot in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders on 418 points, but he has extended his lead to 39 points over Dilshan who is four points ahead of his teammate Mathews. Hafeez lies in fourth place on 368 points.

In the next ODI series, Zimbabwe will host third-placed New Zealand
with the first of three ODIs due to start in Harare on August 2. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th,  2015.

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