After beating New Zealand in the first four ODIs, Pakistan cricket team left India and Australia behind to become No. 1 ODI team in the ICC team ranking.

Pakistan needed to win the last ODI to consolidate their position at the top of the table, but a 47-run defeat in the fifth and last ODI meant the crown of ODI cricket was snatched from Pakistan in just 48 hours.

Following their defeat against New Zealand in Karachi, the Pakistan cricket team slipped to the third position in the latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings. Australia and India edged past them to the first and second places, respectively.

It was Pakistan’s first ODI series win over New Zealand in 12 years. The last ODI series win over Black Caps was in 2011 and since then they had lost six of the seven series, with one drawn.

With the fourth ODI win, the Greenshirts achieved the number one position for the first time since the introduction of ICC’s official team ranking system in 2005. Pakistan’s previous best was the 3rd position.

In August 1991, Pakistan were last on top of ODI rankings but that historical ranking had no official status.

Pakistan were fifth on the ODI rankings before the five-match series started with a rating of 106 but jumped to the first position after winning four consecutive games against New Zealand who were in 2nd place before the series started in Rawalpindi last month.

Babar Azam and company were in top form throughout the series, chasing down the targets in the first two ODIs and winning the third ODI by 26 runs to move up to the third position in the points table, ahead of England and New Zealand.

In the fourth ODI, Babar Azam’s 18th century helped Pakistan post a mammoth total (334) before a collective bowling effort gave them a big win by 102 runs and 4-0 lead in the series.

They have been consistently good in white-ball cricket in the recent past. The series has also provided an opportunity for Pakistan to fine-tune their strategy ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, scheduled to take place in October and November 2022 in India. The team’s success in the ODIs has added to its confidence and motivation.

In the 4th ODI, captain Babar Azam achieved a special feat, leaving behind Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli. Babar Azam completed his 5000 runs in ODIs as soon as he scored his 19th run in the fourth ODI against the Kiwis. He has become the fastest player to complete the 5000-run mark.

Babar achieved the feat in just 97 innings. Earlier, the record of completing the fastest 5000 runs in ODI cricket was held by South Africa’s Hashim Amla who reached the milestone in 101 innings. Virat Kohli and Vivian Richards played 114 innings to achieve the feat.

Babar Azam surpassed the South African batting legend again as he also became the fastest batter to complete 18 ODI centuries – doing it in his 97th innings. Hashim Amla completed 18 ODI centuries in 102 innings.

Babar also ended his 11-month ODI century drought as he finally reached the 100-mark after failing to convert his last eight ODI fifties. Pakistan captain’s 17th century came against West Indies last year in June.

Babar Azam is one of the most successful batters in the world at the moment and has been the number-one batter on the ICC ODI Rankings since April 2, 2022.

Babar Azam has had an illustrious career since he made his debut for Pakistan in a One-Day International against Zimbabwe in Lahore in 2015 and completed his 100 ODIs in the fifth match against New Zealand.

He has also scored 26 half-centuries and 158 is his best score in ODI cricket.

In the ODI series, Babar Azam scored 276 runs with the help of one hundred and two fifties at an average of 55.20

Opener Fakhar Zaman was the most successful batsman of the series with 363 runs in five matches, averaging 90.75 with the help of two hundreds. From New Zealand, DJ Mitchell scored 297 runs at an average of 74.25 including two centuries.

On the bowling side, Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf took 9 wickets in the series at an average of 25, while Shaheen Shah Afridi and MJ Henry took 8 wickets each, averaging 24.50 and 33.75, respectively.

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