Smriti Mandhana has been in supreme form in the 50-over format, as she has completed two tons and eight half-centuries in the 15 ODIs she has played since the beginning of 2018. (Source: BCCI Women/Twitter)After notching up her fourth ODI century and an unbeaten 90 in the just-concluded ODI series against New Zealand, Indian opener Smriti Mandhana on Saturday climbed three spots in the batters’ list to become number one in the ICC women’s ODI rankings. Mandhana scored 105 off 104 balls in the first ODI and again stood up to the task by scoring an unbeaten 90 off 83 deliveries, helping India clinch a 2-1 series win against Kiwis in the three-match ODI series.
The Indian opener has been in supreme form in the 50-over format, as she has completed two tons and eight half-centuries in the 15 ODIs she has played since the beginning of 2018.
Young Jemimah Rodrigues was another Indian who had a good day at the rankings. The 18-year-old cricketer, who has just featured in seven ODIs after making her debut in March last year, rose up 64 places. She now sits at the 61st position in the rankings. However, Indian skipper Mithali Raj slipped down one spot to finish at the fifth position.
There was less of a reshuffle in the bowling department but India’s spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht also had a great day in the rankings. Yadav and Sharma have climbed five spots and are now placed at number 8 and 9 respectively.
Yadav and Sharma scalped six and four wickets respectively in the series. Bisht, who claimed five wickets in the series jumped nine spots to settle down at number 13.
Experienced candidate Jhulan Goswami, who picked three wickets while giving away 23 runs in the second ODI, also saw a rise in her ranking by one spot. The seamer is currently placed at number four and is the highest-ranked Indian in top five.
