Sydney: The ICC T20I Championship table now has India in the top position, while Australia has dropped six places to eighth. India now lead second-ranked West Indies by two points.
A lot of T20I cricket needs to be played before the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 starts in Nagpur on 8 March, which will certainly have an impact on the championship table.
Meanwhile, in ICC Player Rankings for T20I Bowlers, India’s Ravindra Jadeja has returned to the table in 18th position, while Watson has stormed up 11 places to 25th spot.
Watson has claimed the number-one spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I All-rounders, while moving ahead of Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi.
India batsman Virat Kohli’s excellent run of form in the just-concluded series against Australia has allowed him to hold on to the status of world’s number-one ranked Twenty20 International batsman in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen, which were released on Monday.
Kohli was the leading run-scorer in the series with 199 runs, including a top score of 90. The India Test captain was undoubtedly one of the players who shaped India’s series win, allowing it to replace the West Indies as the top-ranked T20I side in the latest ICC T20I Championship table.
Also making an impact was Rohit Sharma, who scored 143 runs in the series, including two half-centuries. As a result, he has moved up one place to 17th, while Suresh Raina, who scored a match-winning 49 not out in Sydney, has gained two places and is now in 13th position.
Australia’s opener Aaron Finch has retained his second position in the batsmen’s rankings, while Shane Watson, who captained in the Sydney T20I and scored an unbeaten 124, has vaulted places to 11th. He is now just 13 points away from returning into the top 10, his best ranking, of course, was number-one which he achieved in 2012.
ICC T20I TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (as on 1 February, after the conclusion of Australia – India series)
RANK TEAM POINTS
1 India 120
2 West Indies 118
3 Sri Lanka 118
4 England 117
5 New Zealand 116
6 South Africa 115
7 Pakistan 113
8 Australia 110
9 Afghanistan 80
10 Scotland 66
11 Bangladesh 64
12 Hong Kong 62
13 Netherlands 61
14 Zimbabwe 54
15 Ireland 42
