ICC T20I Rankings: Pakistan go top, India remain fifth
India's win in the third T20I against New Zealand meant that Pakistan climbed to No.1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings. Despite winning the series, India remained at No.5 but are only behind fourth-placed England on decimal points.
Courtesy of their 2-1 win over New Zealand, India managed to close the gap at the top. While Pakistan still lead with 124 points, India are now only a point behind New Zealand in second and West Indies, who occupy third place. Only decimal points, separate India and England who complete the top five.
Pakistan, who reached the No.1 spot in the T20I rankings for the first time following India's victory in the first T20I climbed to the summit once again. Despite the loss of several stalwarts in the longest format, Pakistan have been on a roll in the shortest format of the game.
Under the leadership of Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan have been unstoppable in T20Is, having won six of their last seven matches. After beating West Indies 3-1 in the Caribbean, they beat the World XI 2-1 in Pakistan before whitewashing Sri Lanka 3-0 at home as well. Their winning run helped them reach the summit, where they will remain till the end of the year, courtesy of the lack of T20I matches.
India hadn't beaten New Zealand even once before the start of the T20I series. Their streak of five consecutive losses against the Black Caps ended in the first T20I at Delhi, which was also Ashish Nehra's last international match. Following the defeat, New Zealand relinquished top spot and moved to second but victory in the second T20I in Rajkot helped them reclaim top spot.
Defeat in the final T20I meant New Zealand lost top spot and slipped to No.2 in the T20I rankings and are only ahead of world champions West Indies by decimal points.
Here is the complete T20I rankings:
