Pakistan continue their good run in the 50-over format as they beat New Zealand in the third ODI by 26 runs at Karachi’s National Stadium on Wednesday, May 4. The hosts also sealed a five-match series with a 3-0 lead and now have a chance to top the ICC ODI Rankings if they win the remaining two games in the ongoing series.
Babar Azam-led Pakistan are currently placed third in the ICC ODI team rankings with a rating of 112. Australia top the current chart with 113 ratings on a level with the second-placed Indian team. Full-strength Pakistan have proved their dominance against Tom Latham-led side with impressive all-round performances so far and are likely to whitewash the series and top the rankings.
The majority of New Zealand players are involved in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) and that is clearly reflected in their performances so far. They failed to defend 336 runs in the second ODI match and struggled to chase a 288-run target in the latest clash. Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam registered brilliant fifties to help Pakistan post a challenging total of 287/6. Matt Henry took three wickets while returning Adam Milne picked two for the Kiwis.
Will Young and Tom Blundell gave New Zealand a promising start with the latter top-scoring with 65 runs. Debutant all-rounder Cole McConchie smashed unbeaten 64 off 45 but Shaheen Afridi struck late to bowl out Kiwis on just 261 runs. The pace trio of Shaheen, Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Wasim took two wickets each to help Pakistan clinch the series.
In individual rankings, star Pakistani skipper Babar Azam dominates the ODI player's chart. Babar fell just one short of recording fifty in the first ODI against New Zealand but managed to register two consecutive half-centuries in the following games. Fakhar Zaman, who smashed two back-to-back centuries in the first two games in this series, jumped to second place in the ICC ODI Player's chart.
Imam-ul-Haq top-scored with 92 runs in the third ODI to bag the Player of the Match award and currently sits in the fifth position in the ODI chart to prove Pakistan's dominance in rankings. However, only Shaheen Afridi remains in the top ten of the current ICC ODI bowler's rankings.
