Pakistan climb to seventh in ICC rankings
- By Shahid Hashmi -
- Jun 15, 2017
CARDIFF: On the back of their tremendous wins over world number one South Africa and world number four England, Pakistan have now climbed to seventh in the ICC one-day internationals rankings updated on Wednesday.
Pakistan had started the Champions Trophy on eighth and in danger of losing a direct entry in the 2019 World Cup, lost to India by 124 runs in their opening game.
They then beat South Africa by 19 runs on Duckworth-Lewis formula and edged out Sri Lanka by three wickets to finish second in Group B. They then upset title favourites England by eight wickets in the first semi-final.
The latest rankings showed South Africa retaining their top position barely on decimal places, sharing 117 points with Australia. India come third while England are fifth and New Zealand sixth.
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Bangladesh are currently sixth while Pakistan displaced Sri Lanka from seventh to eighth. West Indies are ninth and Afghanistan are at ten.
Pakistan’s rise means they will automatically qualify for the 2019 World Cup, leaving the race between West Indies and Sri Lanka. But West Indies are as low as on 76 points and need to win their tow series against India and England, which looks a different proposition for the weakened West Indies.
