Australia retain No.1 spot in ODI rankings
With this victory, Australia has occupied the No. 1 position by removing Pakistan in the ODI rankings. Pakistan became top ranked team in the last month.
![Australia retain No.1 spot in ODI rankings](https://api.bdcrictime.com/366802-08_09_2023.jpg)
Posted - 2023-09-08T09:58:19+06:00
Updated - 2023-09-08T09:58:19+06:00
Australia secured a great win in the first match of the ODI series against South Africa on Wednesday (September 7). They won by 3 wickets chasing 223-run target where they were 113/7 at one stage. As a result, they took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
With this victory, Australia has occupied the No. 1 position by removing Pakistan in the ODI rankings. Pakistan became top ranked team in the last month. Australia was at No. 2 position. This time Australia has taken the top position of the ranking by defeating the Proteas.
But Pakistan is also in the race. Currently they have 2 more matches left in the ongoing Asia Cup. There is one more match in the final if they qualify. The ODI World Cup is also ahead. Australia also has four matches left against South Africa. As a result, there is going to be quite a fight between Australia and Pakistan to occupy the top position of the ranking.
In the meanwhile, batting first in the match, Temba Bavuma fought alone for the Proteas, he hit a century and was unbeaten on 114 runs which helped the team to make a total of 222 runs.
On the other hand, Australia was under a lot of pressure in the beginning to respond. Marnus Labuschagne, who came in as Cameron Green's concussion sub, emerged as the savior when the team was losing one wicket after another. Australia got a great win thanks to his fighting unbeaten innings of 80 runs and Ashton Agar's unbeaten 48 runs.
With the 3-wicket win, Australia now lead the five-match series 1-0.