The Sports Desk
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has surged to No. 1 in the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings – for the fourth time in her career. Her rise owed to her calmly assembled 58 off 63 against Australia in the first ODI on Sunday. She reclaimed the top spot from England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who had been No. 1 previously. Australia’s Beth Mooney also gained three spots, with Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield jointly moving six reels to No. 25 after scoring fifties in their respective first innings of the series.
Despite Mandhana powering India to 282, Australia chased it down with eight wickets and 35 balls to spare in New Chandigarh. The second ODI is on Wednesday, the second match of the three-ODI series.
It adds another layer to Mandhana’s excellent record, first having reached the top in January 2019 and most recently in July before being reunited after Sciver-Brunt’s promotion. Among other Indian batters, Harmanpreet Kaur is 12th in the ODI ratings, while Jemimah Rodrigues is 15th.
In the bowing ratings, Australia’s Kim Garth and Alana King climbed to a career-best fourth and fifth, respectively. India’s Sneh Rana climbed five places to 16th after going for 51 runs in the first ODI. England’s Sophie Ecclestone is atop the ODI bowling rankings. India’s Deepti Sharma is the sole bowler in the top ten, seventh in the rankings.
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