Pakistan Cricket Team tops ICC ODI Rankings for first time in history

The Pakistan cricket team on Friday become the No. 1 ODI team in International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings after the Men in Green defeated New Zealand in Karachi by 102 runs in a four-match series. This is for the first time Pakistan secured the World No.1 ODI spot after the ICC officially started giving out rankings since January 2005.

Babar Azam and Co. were on the fifth spot in the ODI rankings before the series started on April 27, while New Zealand were on the second spot.

During the series against New Zealand, they zoomed to the top of the list with 113.483 rating points, surpassing Australia (113.286) and India (112.638). But the Men in Green must win the fifth and final ODI to retain the No. 1 spot. If they lose, they will slip back to the third position and Australia will reclaim their top spot. A no-result or an abandoned fifth ODI will be enough for Pakistan to retain the No. 1 spot.

In the fourth match, Azam scored a superb century to help his team take the lead in the series. Azam scored 107 runs of 117 balls and also became the fastest batter to reach 5,000 ODI runs. Pakistan scored a total of 334-6 in 50 overs.

In reply, the Kiwis played decently, but as the openers failed to make a significant contribution, they fell well short of the target. Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Usama Mir took the top seven wickets and bowled out New Zealand for 232 in 43.4 overs.

The fifth and final ODI will take place on Sunday at the National Stadium in Karachi.