ICC ODI Rankings: Pakistan's Babar Azam will overtake India's Virat Kohli to become World No 1 after a wonderful ton against South Africa
ICC ODI Rankings: Babar Azam to become World No 1: After a wonderful ton against South Africa in the 1st ODI in Centurion, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has assured himself of the No 1 batsman position in ICC ODI Rankings, surpassing India skipper Virat Kohli. After losing an early wicket, Azam’s strokeful 103 off 104 balls helped Pakistan beat South Africa by 3 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series. Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam.
With India not slated to play any ODI matches any time soon, Virat Kohli will not have the chance to overtake the No 1 spot in ICC ODI Rankings. Instead, Babar Azam will momentarily become World No 1 batsman in the ODIs.
As for the record books, Azam surpassed Kohli, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla to become the fastest batsman to score 13 ODI centuries. It took him only 76 innings to get there while Amla managed it in 83 innings, Kohli and de Kock in 86.
ICC ODI Rankings – Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Currently, Babar Azam is just 20 points behind India’s Virat Kohli in the ICC ODI rankings (batsmen). And his 13th ODI century ensured that he overtakes the Indian counterpart. Azam is currently second in the rankings with 837 points.
Kohli with 857 points is the No 1 batsman in the ODIs. In the recently concluded India vs England series, Kohli scored two half-centuries in three matches against but failed to get to the three-figure mark, something that has eluded him since August 2019.
Babar Azam, on the other hand, has been in tremendous form in the 50-over format. He has scored four centuries in his last 10 ODIs, taking his tally of hundreds to 13. On Friday, he made short work of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Anrich Nortje, reaching his 100 in 102 balls.
As the South African bowling attack will be depleted in the 3rd ODI due to IPL bound bowlers like Rabada, Ngidi and Nortje, Azam will have a fantastic opportunity to cement his place and get ahead by a good margin. Hence, he will become World No 1 after South Africa vs Pakistan ODI series.
Babar was the no. 1 ranked player in T20I cricket some time ago. His prolificity in ODI cricket has also been exceptional. However, there has been criticism against him for being selfish and not batting aggressively enough. A strike rate of 87.15 does seem low in the context of modern-day ODI batting. This is where Virat has a clear edge over his competitor.
As far as team rankings are concerned, South Africa are currently in the fifth position, ahead of Pakistan at no. 6. Only a 3-0 win would allow Pakistan to get ahead of the Proteas. Otherwise, the hosts will remain ahead.
