South Africa have overtaken New Zealand and England to take the second position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Team Rankings after completing a clean sweep of the three-match series against Pakistan 3-0.
The Faf du Plessis-led side won the opening two Tests by six and nine wickets respectively, with their seam attack leading the charge to victory on wickets that Pakistan’s vulnerable batting line-up found too difficult to handle. In the third and final Test, fast bowler Duanne Olivier took key early wickets to help South Africa wrap up a clean sweep of their series with a victory by 107 runs over Pakistan on the fourth day of the match on Monday.
Following the win, South Africa have gained four points to reach 110 points, two points ahead of England in the list led by India (116 points) following their 2-1 victory over Australia in a four-match series that ended last week.
Pakistan have lost one position, slipping behind Sri Lanka to seventh place. Pakistan started the series with 92 points but are now on 88 points, three points less than Sri Lanka.
New Zealand are one point behind England at 107 points. England will have to win their upcoming three-match series against the Windies starting on 23 January to remain ahead of New Zealand.
Source: Zee News