After their recent success in the three-match series against the West Indies in Multan, the Babar Azam-led Pakistan has pushed India to fifth place in the latest round of ICC ODI rankings released on Monday.

Pakistan has 106 rating points after sweeping the series and leads India by one point. New Zealand tops the charts with 125 rating points, followed by England (124) and Australia (122).

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Pakistan was ranked fifth in the world before the series began, with a rating of 102. India, on the other hand, will have a chance to climb the rankings as they play England and the West Indies (three one-day internationals each) before Pakistan’s next ODI series in August.

Pakistan has had a fantastic last couple of years in the 50-over format. Apart from a hiccup against England away from home, they have defeated all comers, including 2-1 series victories over Zimbabwe and South Africa.

When Australia visited Pakistan for the first time since 1998, they were defeated by the same margin. The West Indies had no chance against Pakistan, who thrashed them 3-0.

This period of revival has occurred under the captaincy of Babar Azam, who has led by example for Pakistan across all formats of the game. With his recent century against the West Indies, he became the first batter to score three consecutive ODI centuries twice, having previously done so in 2016.

And, with a fifty in the second ODI, he set a new world record for the most consecutive 50-plus scores (9) in men’s international cricket across all formats (9) with nine.

Along the way, the top-ranked ODI batter has amassed a team of dependable players. One of them is Imam-ul-Haq, who has been on a roll recently, with seven 50-plus scores in his last seven ODIs to show for it.

ICC Men’s Player of the Year Shaheen Afridi has been the leader of the pack of bowlers that consists of Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan, among others.

(Inputs from IANS)