ICC T20 Rankings…..Windies men move to second, women close in on India

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 champion West Indies has number-one ranked India firmly within its sights after it became the only country to win the tournament twice.

The West Indies defeated 2010 winner England by four wickets in front of a packed Eden Gardens, and has consequently moved ahead of New Zealand in second place. The West Indies is now on 125 points, one point behind India which lost to the eventual champion in Mumbai in the second semi-final on Thursday.

After finishing as the second best side in the tournament, England is now fourth after swapping places with South Africa. New Zealand, which lost to England in the first semi-final in Delhi on Wednesday, has retained its third place at 120 points.

Meanwhile, in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen, India’s Virat Kohli has comfortably defended his number-one position. India’s top-order batsman, who was adjudged player of the tournament leads Australia’s second-ranked Aaron Finch by 86 points. Kohli had entered the home competition leading Finch by 24 points.

England’s Joe Root, who finished as the third leading run-getter behind Tamim Iqbal and Kohli with 249 runs, has broken into the top five for the first time in his career. Root scored 27 not out in the semi-final and 54 in the final, for which he has been rewarded with a jump seven places that has now put him in fourth position.

Marlon Samuels, who won the player of the final award, has also returned to the top 20 in 18th position. The top-order batsman scored eight in the semi-final and 85 not out in the final, which has helped him rise five places to share the position with South Africa’s Quinton de Kock.

England’s Jos Buttler is the other batsman inside the top 25 to improve his ranking. The wicketkeeper/batsman is now in 24th spot after moving up three places.

Batsmen outside the top 25 to head in the right direction include Lendl Simmons of the West Indies (32nd, up by 17 places), New Zealand’s Colin Munro (37th, up by 18 places), Johnson Charles of the West Indies (50th, up by 14 places) and England’s Jason Roy (62nd, up by 33 places).

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Ranking for T20I Bowlers, India’s pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra have achieved career-best rankings.

Bumrah has vaulted six places to seventh, while Nehra has climbed five places and is now in 11th position.

West Indies’ Samuel Badree is the number-one ranked bowler and he leads fellow wrist-spinner Imran Tahir of South Africa by 50 points, while India’s Ravichandaran Ashwin is in third position, another 28 points behind.

Bowlers outside the top 25 to make an impact in the latest rankings include England’s Chris Jordon (30th, up by 19 places), Adil Rashid of England (51st, up by 29 places) and Andre Russell of the West Indies (58th, up by 18 places).

There is no change in the top five of the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by a retired Shane Watson. He is followed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and West Indies’ Marlon Samuels.

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings (as on 4 April, after the conclusion of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016)

1. India 126 (-1)

2. West Indies 125 (+7)

3. New Zealand 120 (+4)

4. England 115 (+3)

5. South Africa 115 (-3)

6. Australia 112 (+1)

7. Pakistan 107 (-3)

8. Sri Lanka 105 (-4)

9. Afghanistan 81 (+4)

10. Bangladesh 74 (-)

11. Scotland 59 (+10)

12. Netherlands 59 (-)

13. Zimbabwe 57 (-3)

14. Hong Kong 44 (-5)

15. UAE 43 (-)

16. Ireland 39 (-9)

17. Oman 37 (+5)

women rankingsWest Indies women cricketers are closing in on fourth- ranked India after they pulled off a major upset to capture the T20 World Cup in India on Sunday.

West Indies Women who completed an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Australian Women in the final, have moved-up to 104 points, just three behind India.

Australia has managed to keep its top rating, and is closely followed in second place by semi-finalist England which has dropped a point and now five points behind Australia.

New Zealand has also gone down a point and at 115 is 13 behind the leader in third.

West Indies women players also rose significantly in the rankings, released by the ICC on Monday.

Player of the final Hayley Matthews was rewarded with a 26-place jump in batting rankings and a 22-place move up in the all-rounder rankings.

Matthews, who top scored in the final with 66 and was key to West Indies successful run-chase against Australia, is now within striking distance of the top 50 while her senior colleague Merissa Aguilleira has advanced to 47th position.

The bowlers too had plenty to celebrate with Anisa Mohammed, who took the crucial wicket of Meg Lanning in the final, gaining a spot to enter the top five.

Player of the tournament Stafanie Taylor, who took a total of eight wickets, three of which came in the semi-final against New Zealand, moved up five places in the bowlers’ rankings to 35th, while team-mate Shamilia Connell has also gained five places to reach 45th.

Taylor and Deandra Dottin are among five players to have retained their top-five all-rounder positions while spinner Afy Fletcher has also climbed significantly.

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