Pakistan were fifth on the ODI rankings before the five-match ODI series began with a rating of 106 but now they have jumped to the third with consecutive fantastic performances at home. Meanwhile, New Zealand, who were second, have slipped down to the fifth spot.
Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the third ODI by 26 runs and took an unassailable 3-0 series lead in the five-match series here at National Stadium on Wednesday.
Fakhar has commenced Pakistan's ongoing ODI series at home against New Zealand in a blaze of glory, with the 33-year-old scoring back-to-back centuries to put his side in control of the five-match series.
Rizwan had extremely meagre returns batting at No.5, scoring just 106 runs in 6 games at an average of 17.66. However, the 30-year-old seems to have gotten a grip on his new role with match-winning contributions in both games against New Zealand.
Tom Latham's New Zealand could have clinched their first victory in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan but a few dropped catches hurt them on a flat surface.
After witnessing Fakhar Zaman's scintillating unbeaten knock of 180(144)* Pakistan skipper Babar Azam hailed his performance as one of the 'best' innings he ever saw.
Mark Chapman has been included in New Zealand's ODI squad against Pakistan after producing impressive performances in the T20I series against Pakistan.
Rohit Sharma with four T20I hundreds tops the list with five other batters, including Babar now, on three hundreds. Notably, both Babar and Rohit have 33 scores of fifty or more in T20Is, second only to Virat Kohli, who has 38 such scores.
Matt Henry had derailed Pakistan's innings in the 13th over with the wickets of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed off back-to-back deliveries. Henry returned in the 19th over to dismiss Shaheen Afridi off the first ball, caught brilliantly near the ropes by Daryl Mitchell off the first ball in
Pakistan Cricket announced their coaching staff for their upcoming home white ball series against New Zealand. The board have also confirmed the appointment of Grant Bradburn as the head coach of the side, in an interim capacity. Abdul Rehman has been named as the assistant head coach, while
Tim Seifert's blistering knock of 88(48) undid all the efforts of Sri Lankan batters as the Kiwis chased down the target of 183 with a ball to spare. After the match, he said, "I do back myself to be in the team just as a batter."