Pakistan team is just one win away from claiming the No.1 ODI team ranking ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 and ICC Cricket World Cup. Pakistan clinched an exciting one-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Hambantota on Thursday and in the process clinched an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series.
That improved Pakistan’s ODI team rating just short of first-placed Australia and the Asian side could claim the premier position as the No.1 ranked one-day side as early as Saturday with a victory over Afghanistan in the third and final match of their series. Meanwhile, India are at third position followed by New Zealand and England in the latest ICC ODI ranking.
Notably, India will clash with arch-rival Pakistan in Kandy on September 2. In 10 ODI matches this year Pakistan have lost just three all against New Zealand and their form with both bat and ball during the ongoing Afghanistan series has them on the cusp of claiming the top ranking from Australia. Pakistan also boast some of the highest ranked ODI players, with Babar Azam leading the way in the ODI Batter rankings and teammates Imam-ul-Haq (third) and Fakhar Zaman (fifth) not far behind. Following the completion of the series against Afghanistan, Pakistan will take part in the 2023 Asia Cup and their first match in that six-team tournament comes against Nepal in Multan on August 30. They then take on New Zealand and Australia in official warm-up fixtures for the World Cup, with their first clash at this year’s tournament coming against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on October 6. Coming to the match, Number ten batsman Naseem Shah Hit a boundary off the penultimate delivery to give Pakistan a dramatic one-wicket win over a luckless Afghanistan in the second ODI. The 20-year-old miscued a boundary off fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi and ran jubilantly towards the dressing room as Pakistan scored 11 off the final over to finish with 302-9 in 49.5 overs. Pakistan’s late surge overshadowed Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s career-best run-a-ball 151 that lifted his team to 300-5 in their 50 overs. Fast bowler Haris Rauf, who picked up a career-best 5-18 in the first match, went for 48 in seven overs without success.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 300/5 in 50 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 151, Ibrahim Zadran 80; Shaheen Afridi 2-58) lost to Pakistan 302/9 in 49.5 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 91, Babar Azam 53; Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-69) by 1 wicket.