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India return to no.1 spot in ICC T20I team rankings after clinching Zimbabwe series

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 27 Jul 2026 27 Jul 2026

New Delhi: India have reclaimed the top spot in the ICC men’s T20I team rankings after recording back-to-back wins in the ongoing three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. defeated Zimbabwe by 7 wickets in the 1st T20I before registering a dominant 90-run victory in the 2nd T20I on Saturday to clinch the series.

The reigning T20 world champions lost the no.1 spot in the ICC T20I team rankings after their disastrous show on their recently concluded tour of the UK. India endured a disappointing run in the UK, losing back-to-back T20I series against Ireland and England. They lost 2-0 in the two-match series against Ireland before losing 4-0 to England.

India remained winless in the T20I leg of their UK tour, losing all six of their completed matches, which saw them slip to the second spot in the ICC T20I team rankings. However, the Men in Blue reclaimed the top spot in the latest ICC T20I team rankings on Sunday.

ICC T20I team rankings:

 

Ishan Kishan becomes no.1 T20I batter

India’s wicket-keeper batter pipped his teammate Abhishek Sharma to become the no.1 batter in T20Is. Kishan played a match-winning knock of 81 runs for India in the 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Saturday. He combined with vice-captain Tilak Varma (60 off 29) to help India register a big win.

After India lost openers Abhishek (8) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (20) early in the game, Kishan single-handedly took the Zimbabwe bowlers to the cleaners en route to his cracking 81 off 44 balls. His terrific knock was laced with 9 fours and two sixes. Half-centuries from Kishan and Tilak helped India post a strong total of 219 runs on the board.

In reply, Zimbabwe were bowled out for a paltry 129 runs as India won the game comfortably by 90 runs. Kishan, who was part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026-winning side, has been in top-notch form in the shortest format ever since making his comeback for the Men in Blue earlier this year.

Kishan is currently India’s leading run-getter in T20Is in 2026 with 783 runs in 22 matches so far this year. He has also surpassed Virat Kohli in the elite list of batters with most runs for India in a calendar year in T20Is. Kohli amassed 781 runs in 20 T20Is for India in 2022.

Kishan now stands only behind Suryakumar Yadav (1164 runs in 2022) and Abhishek Sharma (859 runs in 2025) in the list of batters with the most runs for India in a calendar year in T20Is. Kishan will have a chance to go past Abhishek’s tally when India take on Zimbabwe in the third and final T20I in Harare on Sunday.

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