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NEW ZEALAND and Zimbabwe cricket players have made impressive gains in the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were released on Saturday morning.

New Zealand came back from behind against Pakistan to win the series 2-1, while Zimbabwe recovered from 0-2 down against Bangladesh to draw the series at two-all.

These series results are clearly reflected in the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings, which will surely serve as a confidence-booster to the two sides which have no more T20I cricket scheduled before the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 start on March 8.

New Zealand captain Kane Williams has moved up five places to a career-best sixth after he top-scored with 175 runs in the series, while left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has broken into the top 10 in eighth position after rising three places.

However, the biggest Kiwi mover is fast bowler Adam Milne. The right-arm fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets, for which he has been rewarded with a jump of 26 places that has put him just outside the top 10 in 13th spot.

For Pakistan, the only positive news is the movement of middle-order batsman Umar Akmal (18th after rising three places) and captain Shahid Afridi, who has returned to the top three in third position in the bowlers’ chart after gaining one place. Zimbabwe’s charge in the player rankings is led by Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer.

Hamilton aggregated 222 runs in four matches, including a series-levelling 93 not out in the final match of the series, which has helped him vault 11 places to eighth in the batting table.

Malcolm Waller, who scored 128 runs in the series, has rocketed 39 places to join Hashim Amla of South Africa in 39th position.

Cremer’s six wickets in the series has meant he has stormed up nine places to a career-high fifth position.

The wrist-spinner has gained 61 points and is now just two points behind the third-ranked Pakistan captain. Tendai Chisoro took four wickets with his fast bowling, which has given him a lift of 84 places that has put him just inside the top 50 in 46th position.

For Bangladesh, the good news is that Mustafizur Rahman has continued to make upward movement. The fast bowler has climbed 78 places and is now in 37th spot after taking four wickets in the series. Al-Amin Hossain has jumped 15 places to 35th, while captain Mashrafe Mortaza is 33rd after rising two places.

MRF TYRES ICC T20I TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (as on January 22, after the conclusion of New Zealand-Pakistan and Bangladesh-Zimbabwe series, and before the start of Australia-India series)

RANK TEAM POINTS

1 West Indies 118

2 Australia 118

3 Sri Lanka 118

4 England 117

5 New Zealand 116

6 South Africa 115

7 Pakistan 113

8 India 110

9 Afghanistan 80

10 Scotland 66

11 Bangladesh 64

12 Hong Kong 61

13 Netherlands 61

14 Zimbabwe 54

15 Ireland 42

MRF TYRES ICC T20I PLAYER RANKINGS (as on January 22, after the conclusion of New Zealand-Pakistan and Bangladesh-Zimbabwe series, and before the start of

Australia-India series)

BATSMEN (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave SR HS Rating

1 ( – ) A Finch Aus 854 39.78 152 892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

2 ( – ) V Kohli Ind 845 44.17 133 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014

3 ( – ) A Hales Eng 795 34.71 136 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

4 – ) F Plessis SA 758 39.28 135 843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015

5 ( – ) M Guptill NZ 741 34.70 130 793 v SA at Hamilton 2012

6 (+5) K Williamson NZ 733 36.69 128 737 v Pak at Hamilton 2016

7 (-2) C Gayle WI 703 35.15 143 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012

8 (+11) H. Masakadza Zim 699! 31.42 120 699 v Ban at Khulna 2016

9 (-1) M. Shahzad Afg 681! 30.86 136 681 v Zim at Sharjah 2016

10 1) K Perera SL 678* 27.09 133 751 v SA at Chittagong 2014

Selected rankings (top 50)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave SR S Rating

18 (+3) U Akmal Pak 606 26.89 124 709 v Zim at Harare 2011

22 (-4) A Shehzad Pak 579 24.76 116 709 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

23 ( – ) S Al Hasan Ban 561 24.24 125 618 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

24 (+39) M Waller Zim 545*! 29.18 154 545 v Ban at Khulna 2016

26 ( – ) M. Hafeez Pak 540 22.93 115 649 v SL at Dubai 2013

37 (-1) S Afridi Pak 491 18.23 149 537 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2010

39 (-1) T Iqbal Ban 477 20.46 108 550 v SL at Chittagong 2014

44 (-7) Chigumbura Zim 455 19.14 147 529 v Afg at Bulawayo 2015

BOWLERS (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Eco. HS Rating

1 ( – ) S Badree WI 751 14.96 5.39 855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

2 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 681 26.96 7.24 717 v SA at Mirpur 2014

3 (+1) S Afridi Pak 672 23.90 6.60 814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009

4 (-1) Senanayake SL 671* 17.45 6.19 712 v Eng at The Oval 2014

5 (+9) G Cremer Zim 669! 16.59 6.72 669 v Ban at Khulna 2016

6 (-1) M Starc Aus 659 19.53 6.72 702 v Pak at Dubai 2014

7 (-1) L Malinga SL 657 21.02 7.27 684 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2015

8 (+3) McClenaghan NZ 643! 25.80 7.68 643 v Pak at Wellington 2016

9 (-2) I Tahir SA 641* 15.77 6.45 675 v WI at Johannesburg 2015

10 (-2) Dawlat Zadran Afg 636! 18.83 7.35 636 v Zim at Sharjah 2016

Selected rankings (top 50)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Eco. HS Rating

12 (-2) S Al Hasan Ban 622 20.96 6.71 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

13 (+26) A Milne NZ 613*! 20.83 7.35 613 v Pak at Wellington 2016

23 (-6) S Tanvir Pak 554 26.97 7.22 600 v Eng at Dubai 2015

33 (+2) M. Mortaza Ban 522 37.73 8.17 527 v Zim at Khulna 2016

35 (+15) Al-Hossain Ban 520* 15.15 6.80 541 v Zim at Khulna 2016

37 (+70) M. Rahman Ban 511* 14.90 5.45 532 v Zim at Khulna 2016

46 (+84) T Chisoro Zim 492*! 17.30 6.17 492 v Ban at Khulna 2016

ALL-ROUNDERS (top 5)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Ranking

1 ( – ) S Al Hasan Ban 349 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

2 – ) SAfridi Pak 330 413 v NZ at Dubai 2009

3 ( – ) S Watson Aus 304 557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012

4 ( – ) M. Hafeez Pak 303 441 v SL at Dubai 2013

5 ( – ) A Mathews SL 289 289 v NZ at New Plymouth 2016 — ICC Rankings.