Gayle vaults into fourth position in T20I batting rankings

(ICC) West Indies’ Chris Gayle has rocketed into fourth position in the Reliance ICC T20I Player Rankings after whirlwinds knocks against New Zealand in the two T20Is played earlier this week in Lauderhill, Florida.

Gayle stroked an electrifying 52-ball 85 not out in the first match and then followed up with a 39-ball 53. These two innings, which came off 91 balls and included 10 sixes and nine fours, have helped him jump 12 places in the latest rankings which were released today.

Dwayne Bravo is the other mover in the latest chart. He has broken into the top 30 in 30th position for the first time in his career after belting one four and four sixes in a 35 not out in the second T20I.

Outside the top 30, Kieron Pollard of the West Indies is the biggest mover. The 25-year-old Trinidadian has moved up 16 places to 48th position after his only outing in the series in which he scored 63 off 29 balls with five fours and as many sixes.

Eoin Morgan of England has reclaimed his number-one batting after New Zealand’s Martin Guptill could manage only 29 runs in the two matches and Brendon McCullum missed both the games.

There is no major change in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for T20I bowlers, except Darren Sammy has slipped two places to 12th and Tim Southee has fallen three places to 21st.

Graeme Swann leads the bowling tables, followed by fellow spinners in Saeed Ajmal, Johan Botha, Ajantha Mendis, Shahid Afridi and Nathan McCullum.

Meanwhile in the Reliance ICC T20I Championship table, New Zealand has slipped two places to sixth while the West Indies has moved ahead of Ireland and has joined India 103 ratings points after winning both the matches. However, when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, the West Indies is ranked behind India.