Anrich Nortje. Photo- ICC
Anrich Nortje. Photo- ICC

South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje soared into the top ten of the ICC T20I bowling rankings following his match-winning performance against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Nortje, who returned to the South Africa team, picked up 4/7 in South Africa’s first match as he raced down the Sri Lankan (SL) batting order.

Nortje removed Kamindu Mendis (11 off 15), Kusal Mendis (19 off 30), Charith Asalanka (6 off 9) and Angelo Mathews (16 off 16) to bowl Sri Lanka out for 77 and secure a six-wicket victory. His stats are the greatest ever recorded by a Proteas bowler in the T20 World Cup, surpassing his previous high of 4/10 against Bangladesh in the 2022 edition.

Following his amazing performance, Nortje has risen nine places in the T20I bowling rankings, entering the top ten in eighth place. The South African is only the second seamer in the top ten after Australia’s Josh Hazlewood who sits on the fifth spot.

Adil Rashid of England remains at the top, with Indian spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Suryakumar Yadav, a famous Indian batter, remains at the top of the batters’ rankings, with 861 ratings. Pakistani stars Mohammad Rizwan (766 ratings) and Babar Azam (765 ratings) are ranked second and third, respectively.

Young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is also ranked sixth, with 714 rating points. However, Jaiswal’s spot in the starting XI is called into question, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma expected to open the innings for India.

Bangladesh all-rounder SICChakib al Hasan becomes no.1 ranker all-rounder in T20Is

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan has recovered the top spot in the all-rounder rankings, succeeding Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. The 26-year-old struck a duck with the bat in the opener against South Africa, which resulted in him being lowered one spot.

Shakib will be desperate to retain his spot as Bangladesh begin their campaign against Sri Lanka on June 8, while Hasaranga will be looking to retake it during the match.

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