Highlights
- Suryakumar was the No 1 T20I batter on Sunday after smashing 61 off 22 deliveries against South Afri
- On Tuesday Suryakumra was dismissed for 8 off 6 which saw him drop points in ICC Rankings
- Both Suryakumar and Rizwan will meet at MCG on October 23
Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammad Rizwan have been going head-to-head and shoulder-to-shoulder in the recent time as they bid to become the No 1 batters in the World. While Rizwan currently holds the tag of No 1 T20I batter, very few would know that Suryakumar Yadav was the No 1 T20I batter for 48 hours. The reign might have been short, but it still lands as a major achievement for the Indian batting sensation.
Suryakumar became No 1 batter after second T20I against South Africa
In the second T20I against South Africa, Suryakumar was scoring runs left, right, and center as he roused to the occasion with a quickfire 61 off 22 deliveries. His blistering innings saw him score at a strike rate of 277.27 which consisted of five fours and five sixes. As a result of this Suryakumar broke Mohammad Rizwan’s lead at the top of ICC Men’s T20I ranking as he faltered on the same day by scoring just one run against England in Lahore.
At the end of the second T20I between India and South Africa and the seventh T20I between Pakistan and England, it was the Indian batter who topped the ICC batters ranking in T20I going level with Rizwan. On Sunday (October 2) evening, it was Suryakumar Yadav who gained ground and became No 1 with 854 rating points.
Surya’s 2-day Reign
Walking into the third T20I between India and South Africa, the Indian batter was dismissed on eight of 6 deliveries which in turn was his Achilles heel. The ICC determines its rankings on the following criteria-
- Runs Scored by a Batsman
- Rating of the Opposition Bowlers
- Level of Runs Scoring
- Not Out Innings
- Result of the match
According to the criteria applied, Suryakumar dropped points for all five aspects and as a result, he dropped down to No 2. A net drop of 16 rating points saw the Indian star end the day on 838 points while Rizwan continued with 854 to top the list.
ALSO READ I IND vs SA 1st ODI: When and How to watch India vs South Africa 1st ODI in India?
What would have happened had Suryakumar not played?
Had Suryakumar not played in the third T20I against the Proteas he would have remained No 1 since it won’t have affected his rankings. In the latest rankings released on Wednesday, Surya could have taken the top spot, instead, he now sits in second.
When is the next opportunity for Surya to go top?
As things stand, Pakistan are playing New Zealand and Bangladesh in a tri-series in New Zealand. If the above criterias are applied in a losing cause and a bad performance for Pakistan for Mohammad Rizwan, he could drop to the second spot. However, if things go well as they are going recently, it will only extend Rizwan’s lead at the top of the ICC T20I rankings in batters. Suryakumar on the flip side won’t be playing any T20I official match until the World Cup in Australia.
The pair is also set to meet in the T20I World Cup on 23rd October at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) with high stakes on offer. It will now be interesting to see who enters as the No 1 T20I batter in Melbourne ahead of the high-voltage clash.
