ICC ODI Rankings: Babar Azam will take over Kohli as No 1 odi batsman

ICC ODI Rankings – Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: After a wonderful ton in the 1st ODI and 94 in the 3rd ODI, both against South Africa in Centurion, Pakistan captain Babar Azam ensured he takes over Virat Kohli as World’s No. 1 ODI Batsman in the ICC ODI Rankings. Babar Azam was the second-highest scorer in the series with 228 runs, only behind Fakhar Zaman’s 302.

In the latest ICC ODI Rankings, Kohli is still No 1 with 857 Points and Babar Azam of Pakistan is No 2 with 852 points but after Wednesday’s 94-run knock it will be a mere formality before the Pakistan skipper becomes the best ODI batsman in the world.

Rank	Name	Country	Ratings
1	Virat Kohli	India	857
2	Babar Azam	Pakistan	852
3	Rohit Sharma	India	825
4	Ross Taylor	New Zealand	801
5	Aaron Finch	Australia	791

ICC ODI Rankings – Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: How Babar will overtake Virat Kohli?

Also Read: Babar Azam, Imam help Pakistan beat South Africa by 3 wickets to take 1-0 lead in ODI series

As Pakistan won the series decider, Babar Azam will overtake the Indian captain when the rankings get released next.

Azam who is just 5 points away from Kohli will outdo the Indian batting great after his knock the the 3rd ODI
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: At the start of South Africa vs Pakistan series, Babar Azam was more than 30 points behind Kohli in the ICC ODI rankings.

But with a century in the 1st ODI and 31 runs knock in the 2nd ODI – Azam in the latest released ICC Rankings reached 852 Ranking points – just 5 points away from Kohli.

Also Read: South Africa vs Pakistan ODI series: SA vs PAK Full Schedule, Full squads, Live Streaming, Date, Time, Venues – All you need to know

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. Last week, he made short work of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Anrich Nortje, reaching his 100 in 102 balls.

ICC ODI Rankings: In the bowling charts, Trent Boult still tops the list followed by Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rehman. India’s Jasprit Bumrah despite missing series vs England is at No. 4 followed by Kagiso Rabada who has again entered the TOP 5 BOWLERS Rankings.

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