Pakistan move to second spot in ICC rankings

LAHORE: Pakistan have ascended to second place on the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League table after beating New Zealand in the first One-day International on Monday.

Young pacer Naseem Shah rattled New Zealand’s batting line-up with a five-wicket haul before wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan led Pakistan to a six-wicket triumph with an unbeaten knock of 77 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand.

The Green Shirts claimed the spot, levelled at 130 points with third-placed New Zealand on the standing, following last night’s win in Karachi.

The Super League is a two-year cycle which will help will help decide which teams feature in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. The hosts along and other top seven teams will qualify automatically for the World Cup. The bottom five teams will play a qualifying tournament, which will also feature the best teams from the lower rungs of the competition.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Babar-led side, who are currently fifth in the ODI teams ranking, has an opportunity to become the number 1 side in the format if they whitewash Kiwis in the ongoing series.

The second and final matches of the series will be played on 11 and 13, respectively.