ICC ODI Rankings: New Zealand Reclaim Third Spot, England At Top
Feb 20, 2019 at 3:46 PM
New Zealand have pipped South Africa to the third spot in the latest ICC ODI Rankings, released on Wednesday (February 20). The Black Caps reclaimed the spot after beating New Zealand in the third ODI to sweep the three-match series.
New Zealand thrashed the visitors by 88 runs to get back to winning ways after losing their last ODI assignment 4-1 at home against India. Put in to bat first, the Black Caps piled up 330 for 6. Veteran batsman Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham impressed with the bat, scoring fifties. James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme then played quick knocks towards the end to fire the hosts to a big total.
In reply, Bangladesh were all out for 242. That they managed to put a respectable total was mainly because of Sabbir Rahman’s century. At one stage it looked like they would not even touch the 100-run mark after Tim Southee dismissed their top-three for just 2 runs. The Tigers soon found themselves 5 down for 61. However, a 101-run stand between Sabbir and Mohammad Saifuddin helped them post a respectable total. Sabbir scored 102 while Southee starred with the ball, picking up 6 for 65.
With the win, New Zealand managed to take the third spot that they had conceded after losing the series to India. They were behind South Africa on decimal points. The 3-0 result sees them overtake South Africa and reach 112 points. England continue to lead the list with 126 points while India are second with 110 points. Pakistan complete the top five with 102 points while reigning ODI world champions Australia are sixth with 100 points.