Dubai, 3 May 2023 (GNP): Pakistan’s batting sensation Fakhar Zaman has risen to the second position in the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings after his brilliant display in the ongoing series against New Zealand at home.
Fakhar has been in sublime form. He scored three consecutive centuries in the 50-over format and led his team to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Fakhar started the series with a solid 117 in the first ODI in Rawalpindi, where he shared a 169-run opening stand with Imam-ul-Haq. Further, he scored 180* in the second ODI at the same venue, and guided Pakistan to a comfortable six-wicket win. Fakhar’s unbeaten knock was the third highest individual score by a Pakistani batsman in ODIs.
Fakhar’s exploits have earned him 784 rating points in ODI rankings, which is his career-best. He is now only 103 points behind his captain Babar Azam, who tops the rankings with 887 points.
Babar has also been in fine touch, scoring two half-centuries and a century in the series so far. He also became the fastest batsman to reach 2000 runs in T20Is during the series.
Also Read: Fans praised Babar for acting skills in Pepsi ad.
Pakistan have a formidable batting line-up ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup later this year, as they also have Imam-ul-Haq at the fifth position in the rankings with 737 points.
Imam has been consistent at the top of the order, scoring two fifties and a century in his last five ODIs. He is only behind South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and India’s Shubman Gill, who occupy the third and fourth spots respectively.
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Pak Vs NZ 3rd ODI:
Pakistan will look to seal the series with a win in the third ODI in National Stadium Karachi Today. While New Zealand will hope to bounce back and keep the series alive.
The visitors have been outplayed by Pakistan in both batting and bowling departments, and will need to improve their performance significantly to challenge the hosts.
