T20I rankings: India dethrone England to claim the coveted top spot

India dethroned England to claim the top Twenty20 International (T20I) team ranking on Monday. The Rohit Sharma-led side claimed the No.1 spot after sweeping the home series against the West Indies 3-0 where some dominant display from the team and brilliance from individuals highlighted their performance. The hosts won the first match by a comprehensive six-wicket margin while the second (8 runs) and third (17 runs) encounters remained neck and neck but India prevailed on top. 

It was also an important series for India as they experimented with their line-up ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year and gave young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi a chance to prove his mettle and he stood out. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer also looked in good touch with the bat, making him a contender for the World Cup debut, while T20 specialist Suryakumar Yadav also maintained consistency to grab the player of the series award. He notched up a brilliant 65 off 31 deliveries in the final match. 

India captain Rohit Sharma reflected on the all-round performance of the team and showed faith in their chasing abilities despite being a young side. He said that it was a good sign for the future of the national team. 

“The team that used to chase, there are not many people here from that squad. We wanted to bat first and chase as well. Because our middle order is fairly new. Happy with the series. Pretty much got everything that we wanted,” Sharma said after the match. 

“We do understand we are very young as a team. We are still a good chasing side, but a lot of the players are missing. So we wanted the guys to understand how to bat in pressure situations. It was pleasing to see guys bailing the team out from situations. Good sign moving forward as a group and something to be proud of,” he added. 

India-England stand equal in rating

However, India (10484) remain only ten points clear of England (10474), but both teams find themselves tied with the rating of 269. T20I heavyweights England, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa, meanwhile, are in the top five list of the rankings in that order. 

Pakistan (266), New Zealand (255) and South Africa (253) are separated by few points in the ratings while Australia (249) remain in sixth after their 4-1 series victory over Sri Lanka.

India’s next T20I assignments 

India are later scheduled to play in the shortest format against Sri Lanka (March), South Africa (June), England (July) on the course of the T20 World Cup. 

The Men-in-Blue will, meanwhile, begin their campaign at the World Cup on October 23 against arch-rivals Pakistan in a mouth-watering Super 12 contest. They will later take on a qualifier, South Africa, Bangladesh and another team yet to qualify at the marquee event.

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