After a convincing victory in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Karachi on Friday, Pakistan has risen to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for the first time since the official team ranking system was introduced in 2005.
With a rating of 106 before the five-match series began, Pakistan was ranked fifth in the ODI standings. However, after defeating New Zealand, who had been ranked second before the series began in Rawalpindi last month, Pakistan rose to the top spot.
Babar Azam‘s team has taken over the top spot in the ODI rankings, with a rating of 113.483, closely followed by Australia and India. If they win the 5th ODI and complete a series clean sweep, they will cement their position even further. The ICC introduced the official ODI ranking system in 2005, and Pakistan’s previous best ranking was 3rd. Renowned statistician David Kendix developed the formula used to calculate the rankings, which was also applied retrospectively to determine teams’ positions before the system’s official launch.
According to the retrospective application of Kendix’s formula, Pakistan was last at the top of the ODI rankings in August 1991. However, this historical ranking does not hold any official status.
4th ODI Summary
The hosts put forth a strong performance overall as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 102 runs. When Pakistan batted first, they amassed 334 runs, with Babar Azam smashing a 107-run performance to give the hosts a commanding 4-0 series lead. Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, scored his 18th ODI century against New Zealand in the fourth ODI. Tom Latham, the team’s captain, scored the highest score of 60.
Pakistan put 334/6 on the board after 50 overs thanks to Babar’s 107. Babar Azam also broke the ODI record for the fastest batter to surpass 5000 runs over the course of his innings. In just 97 innings, he attained the milestone, beating Hashim Amla’s previous record of 101 innings.
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