ENG v SA 2020: Dawid Malan beats Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam to create a new world record
England's swashbuckling top-order batsman Dawid Malan missed out on a well-deserved hundred against South Africa last night. But the left-handed batsman has made history now by achieving the highest rating points in the history of ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen.
Dawid Malan entered the T20I series between England and South Africa as the World No. 1 T20I batsman. He could not impress much in the opening T20I at Newlands, but Malan scored a fantastic half-century in the next game at Boland Park.
In his return to Cape Town, Malan played a magnificent knock of 99 runs. A miscalculation in the match's closing phase did not allow the southpaw to record his second T20I hundred.
After the game, the 33-year-old also joked that he needed to return to Math class.
Nevertheless, Dawid Malan has cemented his number one position on the ICC T20I Rankings with an aggregate of 163 runs in three matches against the Proteas.
Dawid Malan becomes the first batsman to attain 900+ rating points in T20I cricket
Australian skipper Aaron Finch held the record for the most rating points (900) in ICC T20I Rankings. Indian captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan's leader Babar Azam were right behind him with 897 and 896 points, respectively.
Courtesy of his splendid performance against South Africa, Dawid Malan has now overtaken three of the best white-ball batsmen of the modern era and attained the maximum rating points.
It is startling to note that Malan has not received his maiden IPL contract to date. The London-based player is a big name in T20 cricket and has made a name for himself in the international arena as well.
A fantastic performance versus the Indian cricket team on the upcoming Indian tour could strengthen Malan's case for an IPL deal.