India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad breaks into top ten of ICC Men’s T20I rankings

New Delhi: India’s top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has broken into top ten of the ICC Men’s T20I batting rankings, as per its latest update on Wednesday.

The big move came after Gaikwad slammed 77 not out off 47 balls in a comprehensive 100-run win for India in the second T20I over Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

As a result, Gaikwad jumped 13 spots from 20th to seventh position in the rankings list, led by Australian opener Travis Head. His India team-mates Rinku Singh and Abhishek Sharma have also made big gains in the rankings.

Rinku, who was among the reserves in India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign last month, jumped four places to reach the 39th spot on the back of an attacking 48 not from 22 balls in the second T20I.

On the other hand, Abhishek, who bagged a duck in his first international game for India, smashed a stunning 100 from just 47 balls in the second game to enter the rankings in 75th position. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who picked six scalps in the first two games against Zimbabwe, has jumped eight places to move into the 14th spot in the bowlers’ rankings.

From Zimbabwe, promising batter Brian Bennett gained 25 places to finish in the 96th position courtesy of his two attacking cameos, making 22 off 15 and 26 off nine in the two matches.

After the first two matches, fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani also gained eight positions, up to 55th, with his spell of 1/17 instrumental in Zimbabwe winning the first T20I by 13 runs.

Adam Zampa (7th), Fazalhaq Farooqi (8th), and Maheesh Theekshana (10th) have gained positions in bowlers’ rankings after Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav dropped places due to being rested from the Zimbabwe series.

In terms of all-rounder rankings, Sri Lanka’s leg-spin all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga moved to sole leader, with Hardik Pandya back in second place.

India's off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar entered the top 50 on the back of his quickfire 27 in the first game, as well as taking three wickets in two outings in Zimbabwe.