Pakistan very close to becoming number-one ODI side ahead of ODI World Cup 2023

Pakistan (source: Twitter)

The Pakistan Cricket Team can gain some momentum going into the ODI World Cup 2023 as they are just one victory away from claiming the No.1 ODI team ranking. Pakistan won the second match against Afghanistan by one wicket in a thrilling last-over finish and Shadab Khan was awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliant match-winning performance.

The Men in Green are 2-0 up in the three-match ODI series with one match still to be played in the series. With a victory against Afghanistan in the third and final game of their series, Pakistan might take the top spot as the No. 1 position in the ODIs on Saturday, August 26. This lifted Pakistan's ODI team rating just short of first-placed Australia.

Babar Azam top ODI batter in the world

This would be an important boost for Pakistan ahead of the 50-over competition this year when Babar's team is one of the favourites to win a second World Cup in India. Pakistan's last World Cup victory came in 1992 in Australia, and if they can sustain their recent upward trend, they might enter this year's tournament as the No. 1 ODI squad.

Pakistan will compete in the 2023 Asia Cup following the completion of their series with Afghanistan, and their opening game in that six-team competition will take place on August 30 in Multan against Nepal. They then play in official World Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia, with their opening match in this year's competition taking place on October 6 in Hyderabad against the Netherlands.

In the ODIs this year, the Green Brigade have lost only three matches and they lost all these games against New Zealand. Pakistan have some players as well who are sitting on good rankings. Their skipper, Babar Azam is on top of MRF Tyres ODI Batter rankings whereas on the other hand his teammates Imam-ul-Haq (third) and Fakhar Zaman (fifth) not far behind