Smriti Mandhana. (Source – BCCI)
Smriti Mandhana sent the cricketing world in awe of her batting skills and sheer ability to stay for long hours on the crease with a centurion knock in the first ODI against South Africa. The swashbuckling century at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, not only propelled India to a remarkable come-from-behind victory, recovering from a precarious 99/5 in the 22nd over, but also instigated a shift in the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings.
This stellar batting performance elevated Smriti Mandhana from fifth to third position, surpassing Australia’s left-handed, Beth Mooney, and South Africa’s opening batter, Laura Wolvaardt. Battling through cramps for most of her innings, the Sangli-born’s achievement would’ve undoubtedly bolstered her confidence significantly.
Remarkably, her 117-run knock was Mandhana’s maiden century on home soil. Her exceptional batting performance was rivalled by fellow RCB teammate and ODI debutant, Asha Sobhana, whose maiden outing saw her yield figures of 8.4-2-21-4. Mandhana, with 715 points, trails behind Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, who relinquished her number one ranking to England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt. The English all-rounder reclaimed the top spot by delivering an exceptional 124* against Pakistan last month.
Deepti climbs the bowler rankings’ ladder
Star off-spinner Deepti Sharma hopped three positions to reach 20th place, courtesy of her exceptionally economical outing against South Africa Women (2/10 in six overs), while Pooja Vastrakar advanced three spots to 38th. Vastrakar, notably, also made a significant leap in the ODI all-rounder rankings, climbing four places to secure the 18th position.
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Yet, the most commanding position is occupied by English left-arm off-spinner, Sophie Ecclestone, who reigns supreme atop the ODI bowling rankings. She maintains a substantial 70-point lead over the second-placed Megan Schutt. Deepti surged to her career-best fourth position in the same list, and could potentially surpass Kate Cross and Schutt if she maintains her exceptional form throughout the remainder of the ODI series, akin to her performance in the first ODI.