New Zealand's middle-order batter Mark Chapman who scored a century against Pakistan in successful run chase of 194 has been rewarded in International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I batter rankings. Chapman jumped 45 places to attain career-best 35th ranking.
Before scoring an unbeaten 104 at Rawalpindi stadium, the Hong Kong-born batter scored an unbeaten 42-ball 71 in the fourth T20I which ended in no result due to heavy rain. The southpaw scored a total of 290 runs from five-T20I series which ended in 2-2 draw.
On the other hand, Iftikhar Ahmed achieved his career-best T20I rankings as well. He jumped six places to 38th spot which he now shares with Afghanistan's out-of-favour opener Hazratullah Zazai. The middle-order batter scored 129 runs from three innings including a 36-run cameo in the last T20I.
Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan gained 13 points to reduce the gap between him and top-ranked Suryakumar Yadav. Rizwan scored an unbeaten 98 in a losing cause in the final T20I. While Rizwan gained 13 points, skipper Babar Azam lost 13. Third-ranked Azam now has just an eight-point lead over South Africa's Aiden Markram.
Imad Wasim did not do much damage with the bat barring the final T20I where he contributed with a 31-run cameo. However, the left-arm spinner took eight wickets in the series and had an impressive economy rate. The 34-year-old entered the top 100 list (93) of T20I bowlers. In the all-rounder rankings, he made a jump of 24 places to share the 24th spot.
Two other New Zealand batters made a leap in rankings after the series. Chad Bowes jumped 82 places to 118th in batting rankings. The 30-year-old scored 107 runs from five innings including a half-century. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi who took five wickets in the series climbed two places to 14th.
Currently, Afghan skipper Rashid Khan is leading the bowling rankings with 710 points. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is leading the all-rounder rankings with 269 points. With Indian Premier League (IPL) going on and focus shifting to ODI cricket ahead of World Cup later this year, it is unlikely that there will be major changes in the T20I rankings.
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