- Saturday, May 11, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
England might have lifted their second T20 World Cup crown by beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday (13) but the Three Lions are yet to become the No.1 ranked team in the format, the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) latest list has revealed.
Former champions India continued to top the list despite losing to England by 10 wickets in the semi-final of the just concluded tournament Down Under. However, they (268) were just three points ahead of the second-ranked European side (265) which now has equalled the West Indies in terms of the most number of T20 World Cup crowns — two.
Before the tournament took off on October 22, India were five points ahead of England (268 to 263) and increased it to six points after winning four of their five matches in the group stage. England, who lost to Ireland in a rain-curtailed game in the group stage, could win three.
But Jos Buttler’s men made a remarkable comeback by defeating favourites New Zealand and Sri Lanka in their final two group encounters to make the last four where they thumped India and Pakistan to lift the trophy.
Runners-up Pakistan are placed third in the table with 258 points, followed by South Africa (256), New Zealand (253), and Australia (252).
Pakistan started the tournament with 259 rating points but eventually lost one despite making the final. They lost three matches out of the six they played, including against Zimbabwe in the group stage.
Not much T20 cricket will be played between now and the 50-over World Cup scheduled next year and India could expand their lead over England if they manage to beat New Zealand 3-0 in the upcoming T20 series starting in Wellington on Friday (18). But if the Hardik Pandya-led side loses 0-3, then India will lose their top position to England and the Kiwis will pip South Africa and inch closer to Pakistan.