India reclaimed the top spot in ICC men's T20I rankings after beating Japan in a thrilling five-over-per-side encounter by just two runs.
The much-anticipated one-off T20I between Japan and India at the Sano International Cricket Ground was played as a five-over-per-side contest after wet outfield delayed its start. There was incessant rain in the lead-up to the historic clash due to Typhoon Dujuan, forcing the game to a delayed start.
When the match actually got underway, it turned out to be a low-scoring thriller. Japan used only spinners for all five overs to restrict India to just 32 runs for the loss of four wickets. India also responded with five overs of spin, but the game went right down to the wire, leaving the three-time T20I champions worried.
The equation had come down to seven runs off four balls when Axar bowled a wide and followed it up with another wide delivery down the leg side. Alexander Shirai-Patmore went for the reverse sweep only to miss it and umpire Chris Thurgate ruled it a wide. However, the decision was overturned after Axar Patel and Sanju Samson expressed their displeasure, and captain Shreyas Iyer had a word with leg-umpire Chris Brown.
With six needed off the last three balls, Axar then made sure to not concede a boundary as India registered a two-run win in a last-ball thriller.
Latest ICC men's T20I rankings: Updated table after Japan vs India
India reclaimed their top spot in the ICC men’s T20I rankings with the win, only two days after England had toppled them with a 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka.
Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
1 | India | 65 | 17480 | 269 |
2 | England | 41 | 11021 | 269 |
3 | Australia | 38 | 9868 | 260 |
4 | New Zealand | 50 | 12348 | 247 |
5 | South Africa | 53 | 12881 | 243 |
6 | Pakistan | 57 | 13679 | 240 |
7 | West Indies | 56 | 13079 | 234 |
8 | Bangladesh | 53 | 11860 | 224 |
9 | Sri Lanka | 47 | 10334 | 220 |
10 | Afghanistan | 39 | 8565 | 220 |
11 | Ireland | 29 | 5942 | 205 |
12 | Zimbabwe | 59 | 11911 | 202 |
13 | USA | 20 | 3650 | 183 |
14 | Netherlands | 24 | 4311 | 180 |
15 | Namibia | 41 | 7358 | 179 |
16 | Nepal | 43 | 7699 | 179 |
17 | Scotland | 23 | 4116 | 179 |
18 | United Arab Emirates | 57 | 9961 | 175 |
19 | Oman | 43 | 6619 | 154 |
20 | Canada | 26 | 3864 | 149 |
21 | Uganda | 47 | 6669 | 142 |
22 | Papua New Guinea | 20 | 2743 | 137 |
23 | Italy | 15 | 1988 | 133 |
24 | Hong Kong | 49 | 6354 | 130 |
25 | Malaysia | 53 | 6685 | 126 |
26 | Kuwait | 29 | 3585 | 124 |
27 | Spain | 16 | 1961 | 123 |
28 | Qatar | 36 | 4297 | 119 |
29 | Jersey | 21 | 2484 | 118 |
30 | Bahrain | 65 | 7636 | 117 |
31 | Bermuda | 20 | 2295 | 115 |
32 | Kenya | 50 | 5434 | 109 |
33 | Saudi Arabia | 26 | 2825 | 109 |
34 | Tanzania | 30 | 2967 | 99 |
35 | Portugal | 28 | 2525 | 90 |
36 | Guernsey | 24 | 2028 | 85 |
37 | Denmark | 20 | 1682 | 84 |
38 | Germany | 30 | 2488 | 83 |
39 | Cayman Islands | 24 | 1915 | 80 |
40 | Nigeria | 45 | 3489 | 78 |
41 | Japan | 39 | 2867 | 74 |
42 | Singapore | 31 | 2211 | 71 |
43 | Austria | 66 | 4293 | 65 |
44 | Sweden | 36 | 2151 | 60 |
45 | Belgium | 33 | 1923 | 58 |
46 | Finland | 29 | 1623 | 56 |
47 | Norway | 36 | 2006 | 56 |
48 | Argentina | 14 | 758 | 54 |
49 | France | 35 | 1753 | 50 |
50 | Romania | 43 | 2134 | 50 |
Note: Rating is the ratio between points and matches. India’s rating comes to 268.92, whereas England now stand at 268.80, both of which are rounded off to 269.
Image Credits: BCCI/X
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