Imran Tahir becomes number 1 ODI bowler
What's the story?
South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir has become the number one ODI bowler in the latest update in the ICC rankings for the format. Tahir, with his previous 743 points, was the second-ranked bowler until now behind Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali, who had 759.
In case you didn't know..
The Pakistan-born bowler has been exceptional in ODI cricket right since making his debut in the 2011 World Cup. His bowling average has never touched even 27 since then, with a best of 10.71 in his debut year and then 24.67 in 2013.
Last year, in 17 ODIs for South Africa, the wily wrist spinner bagged 27 wickets at 24.89, at a fantastic economy rate of 4.62.
The heart of the matter
Though South Africa are yet to play an ODI in 2018, what made Tahir rise to the top was likely Hasan Ali's disappointing show with the ball on the just concluded limited-overs tour of New Zealand.
Hasan, who was rewarded with the ICC Emerging Player of the Year Award for an outstanding display in 2017, could not start the new year with a memorable tour. In the four ODIs that he played out of the five, he managed only 6 scalps with a high average of 36.17 besides being expensive with an economy rate of 6.41 in the series.
What's next?
With the Test leg of the ongoing visit by India ending with a 2-1 win for South Africa, the tour continues with 6 ODIs and 3 T20s. The first of those matches takes place at Durban on February 1. Tahir will be keen to showcase his abilities with the white ball yet again on the familiar surfaces at home, with his opponents' strength being the turning ball.
Interestingly, Tahir's average against India is as high as 38.11, the highest among all Test playing nations against whom he has played ODI cricket.
Author's Take
It will be intriguing to see how Tahir traps the Indian batting line-up with his leg-spinners and googlies, especially because restricting runs in the middle-overs and targetting the wickets of the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni will be a challenge.