Finch now the top-ranked T20I batsman in world cricket

Australia opener Aaron Finch became the first player in the history of T20 Internationals to break the 900-point mark as he moved up three places to finish the tri-series in Harare against Pakistan and Zimbabwe as the top-ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game.

Finch, who captained Australia to the final, had touched the 900-point mark following his record-breaking knock of 172 (76b, 10×6, 16×4) against Zimbabwe in Harare on 3 July.

The 31-year-old from Victoria eventually finished the T20Is (also comprising a one-off against England at Edgbaston) in number-one position on 891 points.

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Finch had started the T20Is in fourth position on 763 points and a tour aggregate of 391 runs not only helped him leapfrog Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glen Maxwell, but also earned him 128 points.

In the latest player rankings, which also takes into account India’s 2-0 and 2-1 series win against Ireland and England, respectively, Finch leads Pakistan’s left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman by 45 points.

Like Finch, Fakhar was in stellar form in Harare, when he totaled 278 runs in the series, including a match-winning 91 against Australia after Pakistan had slumped to 2/2 after being set a victory target of 184.

Fakhar’s string of good scores, that also included knocks of 61, 6, 47 and 73, have helped him vault 44 places to claim second position.

He has now become Pakistan’s highest-ranked batsman after Babar Azam slipped from first to fifth due to his absence because of an injury.

India’s KL Rahul’s scores of 70, 101*, 6 and 19 have made him India’s highest-ranked batsman after he moved up nine places to a career-high third position.

Rohit Sharma in 11th rank (up by two places) and captain Virat Kohli in 12th rank (down by four places) are the next highest-ranked India batsmen.

Australia’s D’Arcy Short, Jason Roy of England and Solomon Mire have also achieved career-best rankings following the latest update.

Short has broken into the top 10 for the first time in his career and is in 10th position, moving up 18 places.

Roy has gained 19 places and is now in 15th spot while Mire has rocketed 202 places to claim 25th position – seven places behind Hamilton Masakadza.

In the bowling table, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and Shadab Khan of Pakistan have retained the top two positions, but there have been a number of movements down the order with Australia’s Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake, and England’s trio of Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and David Willey achieving career-high rankings.

Tye has risen 41 places to seventh in the latest rankings after taking 12 wickets in Harare, Rashid has claimed ninth position after moving up four places, Plunkett has gained 14 places and is now in 11th spot, Willey has risen 12 places to 15th and Stanlake’s seven wickets have given him a leap of 60 places that has put him in 19th position.

Other bowlers to head in the right direction include Mohammad Amir (12th, up by six places), Hardik Pandya (29th, up by five places), Mohammad Nawaz (32nd, up by nine places), Faheem Ashraf (33rd, up by 21 places), Kuldeep Yadav (34th, up by 41 places) and Ashton Agar (45th, up by 39 places).

There is no change in the top three all-rounders, with Maxwell leading the field. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi is second while Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is third.

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank   ( /-)    Player             Team  Pts      Avge   S/R        Highest Rating

1             ( 3)        Aaron Finch         Aus          891         45.60     162          900 v Zim at Harare 2018

2            ( 44)     Fakhar Zaman    Pak          842!       30.76     144          842 v Aus at Harare 2018

3            ( 9)        Lokesh Rahul      Ind          812         49.71      155           854 v Eng at Old Trafford 2018

4            (-2)         Colin Munro         NZ           801         33.51      164          805 v Pak at Wellington 2018

5             (-4)         Babar Azam         Pak          765         53.00     127           881 v Win at Karachi 2018

6            (-3)         Glenn Maxwell   Aus          761          32.94     163          801 v NZ at Auckland 2018

7             (-2)         Evin Lewis            Win         753*       37.57      160          780 v Eng at Durham 2017

8            (-2)         Martin Guptill     NZ           747         34.40     133          793 v SA at Hamilton 2012

9            (-2)         Alex Hales             Eng         710          32.67     136          866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

10           ( 18)      D’Arcy Short        Aus          690*!    41.88      132          690 v Pak at Harare 2018

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank   ( /-)    Player             Team  Pts      Avge   Eco       Highest Rating

1             ( – )          Rashid Khan        Afg           813         13.01       5.93       816 v Ban at Dehradun 2018

2            ( – )          Shadab Khan      Pak          723         18.00      6.72       769 v Sco at Edinburgh 2018

3            ( 1)         Ish Sodhi               NZ           700         19.33      7.43       739 v Pak at Wellington 2018

4            (-1)          Y. Chahal               Ind          685         18.97      7.85        706 v Ban at Colombo (RPS) 2018

5             ( – )          Samuel Badree  Win         674         19.78      6.05       855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

6            ( – )          Mitchell Santner                 NZ           665         21.37      7.14        731 v Pak at Wellington 2018

7             ( 41)      Andrew Tye          Aus          658!       20.89     8.70       658 v Pak at Harare 2018

8            (-1)          Imran Tahir         SA            650         15.85       6.80       795 v NZ at Auckland 2017

9            ( 4)        Adil Rashid          Eng         639        28.82     7.68       640 v Ind at Cardiff 2018

10           (-2)         Mohammad Nabi               Afg           638!       24.20     7.09       638 v Ban at Dehradun 2018