South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj replaced Mohammed Siraj
as the new world No 1 bowler in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Bowlers Rankings ahead
of the World Cup 2023 semi-finals.
The musical chairs for the No 1 bowler spot in the ICC
Men’s ODI Payer Rankings continue with a new No 1 crown for the third time in
as many weeks.
The competitiveness of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup
2023 has made it difficult for bowlers to hold on to their top spot. On 1
November, Shaheen Afridi claimed the top spot in the rankings but his reign
lasted all of one week after Mohammed Siraj toppled him on 8 November.
Less than a week later, a new No 1 emerged with South
Africa’s spinner Keshav Maharaj climbing the charts to the summit, with the
Proteas spinner rising from No 2 while Siraj moved down a spot from the top.
Since the last update last Wednesday, Maharaj picked
up seven wickets in three matches, which included a four-for against New
Zealand in Pune.
He was one of the very few bowlers who troubled India,
returning figures of 1/30 when the hosts scored 326. In the final group stage
game, the left-arm spinner scalped two wickets against Afghanistan.
Siraj, who scalped six wickets in India’s last three
matches, is not too far behind Maharaj with only three rating points separating
the two. His compatriots Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav occupy two of the
three remaining spots in the Top 5.
In the last week of the group stage action, Glenn
Maxwell produced one of the greatest ODI innings of all time. His 201* off 128
balls while chasing against Afghanistan came against all odds when Australia
were struggling at 91/7 while chasing 293.
During the innings, Maxwell battled cramps and spasms
of his own but remained unbeaten and pulled off one of the greatest heists in
World Cup history.
His stupendous innings have helped him climb a
whopping 17 spots in the batting charts and one spot on the all-rounders’
rankings.
Mitchell Marsh was among other significant gainers as
he racked up 177* in Australia’s last league stage game against Bangladesh. He
too recorded a massive rise in the batting rankings to No.38 (up 11 places).
Shubman Gill continues to lead the way in the batting
rankings after dethroning Babar Azam last week. India’s batting lynchpins Virat
Kohli and Rohit Sharma occupy 4th and 5th spots respectively, with the India
skipper rising one spot in the latest update.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul too have made ground after
brilliant performances that were capped off with centuries apiece against
Netherlands in the final league stage game. Iyer climbed five spots to equal
No. 13 along with Fakhar Zaman while KL Rahul jumped to 17th from 24th.
The World Cup now heads into the knockout stages and
the rankings could see even more changes come next week with seven of the top
10 in batters and bowlers rankings featuring in the semi-finals.
India is set to face New Zealand at the Wankhede on
Wednesday while South Africa takes on Australia at the Eden Gardens the day
after. The grand finale will take place on November 19 at the Narendra Modi
Stadium in Ahmedabad.
ANI
