Pakistan lose No. 1 ODI spot in just 48 hours

 

On May 7, 2023, at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi (centre) celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand's Cole McConchie (not visible). This was the fifth and final one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Pakistan and New Zealand. —AFP

Just 48 hours after capturing the top spot for the first time in history, Pakistan's reign at the top of the ICC Men's ODI Rankings came to an end. 

After failing to defeat New Zealand in a clean sweep in the final ODI game played in Karachi on Sunday, May 7, the green shirts were deposed.

They briefly had the kingdom, but their reign was short-lived as the consolation victory by New Zealand destroyed their dreams of a series sweep and sent them sliding from the top.

Australia now holds the top spot in the standings with 113 points, followed closely by India in second place with 113 points. With 112 points, Pakistan is presently ranked third. 

Babar, the captain of the Pakistani squad, stated that they didn't meet their goals despite winning the five-match series decisively 4-1.

"It was a fantastic series, but it didn't come to a satisfying conclusion. While Agha and Iftikhar had a solid partnership at the top of the order, we struggled with the bat and left too many runs unmet.

They, he continued.

Choosing to bat first after winning the toss in a thrilling match on Sunday, New Zealand set a lofty target of 299 runs in 49.3 overs.

Will Young, the opening batter, displayed his talent with a quick-fire innings of 91 runs off of 87 balls. Although Tom Blundell (15) and Henry Nicholls left the game early, the entire team's batting lineup made a substantial contribution to the team's total. Tom Latham, the captain, took the initiative and scored 59 runs off of 58 deliveries.

Mark Chapman played his typical aggressive approach in the middle overs, blasting two sixes and five boundaries. With a fast cameo of 28 runs from just 20 balls, Rachin Ravindra gave the score a late flourish that brought it very nearly to the 300-run threshold.

Babar Azam (1) and Mohammad Rizwan (9), Pakistan's star players, left the team early in the chase, which caused problems for Pakistan's batting lineup. Pakistan's hopes were kept alive by Agha Salman (57) and Iftikhar Ahmed (94 off 72 balls) who both put out heroic efforts. In addition to being unbeaten at the completion of the game, Iftikhar's innings featured two sixes and eight boundaries.

Despite Iftikhar's valiant attempts, Pakistan's pursuit was unsuccessful because they left too much to be accomplished in the last minutes. An important milestone for the team was reached when New Zealand celebrated their first victory in the ODI series.