Quinton breaks into top-10 of T20I rankings

DUBAI : South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock's showing in the recently-concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka saw him gain four places to the eighth spot in the latest Men's T20I Rankings for batsmen, said the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old de Kock shone with the bat in South Africa's 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka, finishing as the top scorer in the recently concluded series with 153 runs in three matches at an average of 153 and a strike rate of 121.42. His fellow opener in the team, Reeza Hendricks, moved up the batting charts and broke into the top 20, at 20th place. Hendricks was the second-highest run-scorer in the series with 112 runs in three matches at an average of 56 and strike rate of 123.07.

Aiden Markram was another Proteas player who made huge gains in the latest update to the rankings, climbing 12 spots to become the 11th ranked batsman in T20Is. In the bowlers' rankings, the top wicket-taker of the series, Bjorn Fortuin, gained 103 places to break into the top 50, sitting at 43rd place. Pacer Anrich Nortje jumped 29 places to be at 71st place.

For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera was one of the few bright spots in the series. Back after nursing a shoulder injury, he made an impact upon his return, scoring 69 runs in two matches and jumped 10 places to 39th.

After the completion of the T20I series between Bangladesh and New Zealand, there were some players who moved up in the rankings. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham and batsman Finn Allen both attained career-high rankings, finishing 44th and 66th respectively. Bangladesh's Mohammad Naim and Mahmud Ullah too jumped three spots each to No.24 and No.29 respectively.

Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman scaled two spots to eighth place after a brilliant four-for in the fourth T20I that reduced New Zealand to just 93. Nasum Ahmed bagged a four-wicket haul of his own in the same game which saw him gain a massive 25 places to become the 15th ranked T20I bowler in the world. (IANS)

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