In recognition of India’s tight series victory against Australia, Rohit Sharma and the company have increased their margin of lead in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings. Team India is at the number 1 spot followed by England and South Africa.
Pakistan is at 4th spot with Newzealand at 5th and Australia at 6th. West Indies and Srilanka hold 7th and 8th spots respectively.
How India gained the lead
India defeated Australia in the third and decisive game of the series on Sunday in Hyderabad. Thanks to half-centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli. As a result, India gained distance from their rivals in the most recent Men’s T20I team rankings.
India’s victory raised their overall T20I team rating by one point to 268 points. This gives them a seven-point advantage over England. The English team is their nearest competitor with 261 points.
How the gap increased
Ironically, it was England’s tight defeat to Pakistan in the fourth game that helped India. In their ongoing series, the defeat widened the gap with their competition. Matthew Mott’s team lost by three runs in Karachi.
The two-game stalemate in that series means there are still plenty of ranking points up for grabs. The next three games in Lahore and before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup kicks off next month.
With 258 points, Pakistan is presently level with South Africa for third position in the team standings. If they win their remaining three matches against England, they might go up as high as second.
If England wins one of those games, they will keep their second-place status, while South Africa will have an opportunity to assert themselves when they play India in a three-match series starting on Wednesday.
With a total of 252 points, New Zealand is still in fifth place among T20I teams. Kane Williamson’s team will play their next match immediately before the T20 World Cup when they welcome Pakistan and Bangladesh for a tri-series at home.
Following their series loss to India, Australia drops to sixth place and now has 250 points overall. The defending T20 World Cup champions still have six games left to play, including matchups against the West Indies, England, and India.
