Bangladesh clinch sixth ODI spot, brighten direct WC entry chances

Bangladesh have broken new grounds in their one-day journey by clinching their highest ever ODI ranking of sixth in the win against New Zealand in the tri-nation series.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 24 May 2017, 07:10 PM
Updated : 24 May 2017, 07:11 PM

The Tigers chased down New Zealand’s 270 with five wickets and 10 balls to spare in Dublin on Wednesday to earn the No. 6 position in the ICC ranking.

The ranking will be made official in ICC’s next update which is done after every series.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both now have 93 points but Bangladesh have got their nose ahead by fractions. The islanders have slipped to 7 followed by Pakistan on 8.

The men in green and red began their rise in the 50-over game with Mashrafe Bin Mortaza at helm in late 2014.

It began with a home whitewash of Zimbabwe before they showed significant signs of improvement by reaching for the first time the quarterfinals of the World Cup held the following year in Australia in New Zealand.

After the showcase event, Mashrafe and his men beat Pakistan, India and South Africa in their backyard to announce their coming of age.

Reaching the sixth ODI spot is a new high for Bangladesh following their incredible success in 2015 and their first victory against New Zealand away from home on Wednesday came as the icing on the cake.

The new position in the ICC ranking also hugely boosts Bangladesh odds of sealing a direct berth in the 2019 World Cup.