New Delhi: Sri Lanka off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana has achieved a career-best third place in the latest update to the ICC Men’s ODI bowling rankings on Wednesday. The move also means that Theekshana, 24, has entered the top three of the Men’s ODI bowlers ranking list for the first time.
Theekshana gained four slots after finishing with 4-44 in the second match in Hamilton, including a hat-trick, though Sri Lanka lost by 113 runs. He then picked 3-35 in the third match in Auckland that Sri Lanka won by 140 runs. Theekshana has also climbed four spots to be in equal 26th place in the men’s ODI all-rounder rankings, alongside Curtis Campher and Gudakesh Motie.
Theekshana, with 663 rating points, is now just six behind top-ranked bowler, Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan (669). India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is second with 665 points, while Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi comes after the three spinners in the rankings with 662 rating points.
New Zealand seamer Matt Henry returns to the top 10 of ODI bowler rankings after winning the Player of the Series award in the side’s series win over Sri Lanka. Henry took nine wickets in the series at an average of 10.33 to now be at equal-ninth place in the rankings alongside Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
New Zealand captain, left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, is up two places to 15th after picking up three wickets in the last two matches, while Sri Lanka fast bowler Asitha Fernando’s career-best Player of the Match effort of 3-26 in the final match took him to 97th spot.
There wasn’t much movement in the men’s ODI batting rankings, with the top 10 remaining unchanged. Pakistan’s Babar Azam (795) retains his top spot ahead of India’s top-order batting trio of captain Rohit Sharma (765), young Shubman Gill (763) and talismanic Virat Kohli (746).
New Zealand’s left-handed batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is up 11 places to 39th after scoring 79 in the second match, while Sri Lanka’s Janith Liyanage has progressed 11 places to 57th after getting a half-century in the final match.
Ravindra’s team-mate Mark Chapman moves into the top 100 after scores of 62 and 81, while Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka bagging two ducks meant he suffered a slide of five spots to be at 18th place.
(IANS)
