Fakhar Zaman rises to second spot in latest ODI rankings

In a major achievement, Pakistan’s opener Fakhar Zaman has climbed eight places to second position in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) latest One Day International (ODI) rankings.

The ICC elevated Zaman to the second spot — one place behind skipper Babar Azam — following his back-to-back centuries during the ongoing series against New Zealand.

“Fakhar has scored three ODI centuries on the bounce and rises to a career-best rating of 784 rating points and is now the closest challenger to his skipper despite trailing by 103 rating points,” the ICC said in a statement.

“It means Pakistan now have three players in the top five on the latest ODI batting charts ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup later this year, with Imam-ul-Haq remaining in fifth place behind his two teammates and South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen and India's Shubman Gill,” it added.

It must be noted that Zaman smashed a third consecutive century to guide Pakistan to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second ODI on Saturday.

The 33-year-old left-handed opener hit an undefeated 180 off 144 balls for his tenth ODI hundred.

It followed his 117 in the first match and 101 against the same opponents in January as Pakistan chased a stiff 337-run target in 48.2 overs.

He became only the 12th batter ever and the fourth Pakistani, after Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas and Babar Azam (twice), to hit three consecutive ODI tons.

The win gave Pakistan a 2-0 lead in the five-match series with the last three matches in Karachi on May 3, 5 and 7.

"It was my lucky day to score again against New Zealand as I got chances," said Zaman.

"I try to take my time at the start and then with five players in the circle it becomes easier to score."

Zaman also became the fastest Asian batter to 3,000 runs in ODI history after achieving the feat in 67 innings. The record was previously held by Babar Azam, who took 68 innings.