Malan reaches highest rating in T20 history

LONDON: England batsman Dawid Malan has set a ranking-points record for batsmen in international Twenty20 cricket after smashing 173 runs in England’s 3-0 whitewash against South Africa.

The 33-year-old left-hander climbed to number one in the world in September after a relentlessly consistent period of scoring in the format and has followed up with a man-of-the-series performance. He hit a match-winning 55 on Sunday before scoring a superb 99 not out off just 47 balls at Newlands on Tuesday and now has 915 points in the International Cricket Council rankings.

Australia’s Aaron Finch held the previous record with exactly 900 points and he remains third on the updated list, behind second-placed Babar Azam of Pakistan.

Malan’s performance helped England leapfrog Australia to take top position in the team rankings.

The Yorkshire player has been criticised for starting slowly but has made himself an integral member of Eoin Morgan’s star-studded side.

He has played 19 T20 internationals and averages an impressive 53 runs per innings at a strike rate of nearly 150 runs per 100 balls.