Afghanistan move above England in ICC ODI rankings after Sharjah tri-series win

Afghanistan climbed above England in the latest ICC men's ODI team rankings after beating Zimbabwe to claim the tri-series title in Sharjah on Friday, October 23. The victory followed a disciplined bowling performance that set up a comfortable run chase.

A disciplined display with the ball restricted Zimbabwe to 169, with Rashid Khan taking three wickets and Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi and Bilal Sami claiming two wickets apiece. Afghanistan completed the chase in the 35th over, making light work of the target.

Ibrahim Zadran anchored the successful run chase with an unbeaten 70 off 96 deliveries, striking four boundaries and a six. He combined with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 36, to put on a 68-run opening stand before adding 82 with captain Rahmat Shah, who made 43. Zadran's composed innings earned him the Player of the Match award.

Rashid Khan was named Player of the Series after finishing the tournament with 11 wickets. The title-winning campaign provided a measurable improvement to Afghanistan's ODI standing in the ICC rankings.

Afghanistan collected two rating points to move from eighth to seventh place, a shift that pushed England down to eighth following England's consecutive defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. Sri Lanka moved up to sixth in the standings as a result of England's recent setbacks.

Zimbabwe also gained two rating points after reaching the final but remain 11th in the rankings, while Bangladesh finished the tournament without a win, dropped two points and retained ninth place.