After a convincing victory in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Karachi on Friday, Pakistan has risen to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for the first time since the official team ranking system was introduced in 2005.
With a rating of 106 before the five-match series began, Pakistan was ranked fifth in the ODI standings. However, after defeating New Zealand, who had been ranked second before the series began in Rawalpindi last month, Pakistan jumped to the top spot.
With 113.483 rating points, Babar’s team currently leads the list of ODI teams, followed by Australia (113.286) and India (112.638). If they triumph in the fifth ODI and sweep the series, they will further solidify their position.
Since the official ICC ODI ranking system was introduced in 2005, Pakistan’s previous best finish was third.
Famous statistician David Kendix created the ICC ranking system. Before the rankings were publicly released, the formula was also used to determine the positions of the teams.
Pakistan last held the top spot in the ODI rankings in August 1991, according to the retroactive application of Kendix’s formula in historical position. That historical ranking, however, has no official standing.
