Kohli and Badree top rankings into semis

Four of the top five sides on the ICC T20 rankings will feature in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20, which will be played in Delhi and Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday.

Number-one ranked India will go head to head with third-ranked West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday, while in the first semi-final in Delhi on Wednesday, second-ranked New Zealand will square-off against fifth-ranked England.

India retained their pre-tournament ranking as well as points, while the West Indies gained two points to move to 120. This means both the former champions, who each won three of their four second round matches, are separated by seven points.

In contrast, New Zealand, the only unbeaten side in the competition to date, earned six points to rise to 122 and consequently moved up two places to second.

Their semi-final opponent and 2010 champions, England, also collected three points and are seven points behind on 115 after winning three of their four matches.

Meanwhile, there was a reshuffling of the pack in the player rankings as leading performers were rewarded for their good performances.

India’s Virat Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, reclaimed the number-one batting position. Kohli had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian.

England’s Joe Root rocketed 38 places to career-high 11th after scoring 168 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 150. The Yorkshireman gained 105 points in the tournament as he now has Zimbabwe’s eighth-ranked Hamilton Masakadza firmly within his sights.

Martin Guptill was New Zealand’s highest-ranked batsman after the opener moved up two places to third following his contribution of 125 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of over 162.

West Indies’ flamboyant Chris Gayle gained one place to sixth after scoring 104 runs in two innings at a stunning strike-rate of 208.

In the bowlers’ table, West Indies’ Samuel Badree returned in number-one position. Badree took six wickets in four matches, while India’s Ravichandaran Ashwin dropped from number-one spot to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.

New Zealand’s Adam Milne and India’s trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra made impressive gains and are expected to feature in the final leg of what has been a highly-competitive tournament to date.

Milne’s three wickets in three matches helped him rise six places to sixth, Jadeja’s four wickets in four matches moved him up three places to seventh, Bumrah’s three wickets in four matches lifted him 13 places to 13th, and Nehra leaped 14 places to 16th following his four wickets in as many matches.

Shane Watson of Australia has signed off on his T20I career as the number-one ranked all-rounder. In the batting charts, Watson finished in 10th spot (up by three places) after scoring 96 runs, while he ended up in 29th spot (up by five places) in the bowlers’ list after taking five wickets in four matches.

Afghanistan, who consistently produced solid performances and eventually caused the biggest upset of the tournament to date by defeating the West Indies, saw a number of players head in an upward direction.

In the batting table, opener Mohammad Shahzad moved to eighth (up by three places), while Asghar Stanikzai is 47th (up by six places). In the bowlers’ table, Mohammad Nabi is ninth (up by 11 places), Rashid Khan is 11th (up by 68 places) and Hamid Hamza is 18th (up by 22 places).

Batsmen to improve their rankings but will no more feature in the tournament include South Africa’s Hashim Amla (12th, up by nine places), Sabbir Rahman of Bangladesh (16th, up by four places), Quinton de Kock of South Africa (17th, up by seven places) and Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (20th, up by 11 places).

Bowlers to head in the right direction are South Africa’s Kyle Abbott (fifth, up by six places), James Faulkner of Australia (eighth, up by 28 places), Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh (19th, up by eight places), Australia’s Nathan Coulter-Nile (20th, up by 27 places) and Kagiso Rabada of South Africa (22nd, up by seven places).

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