Smriti Mandhana climbs to 4th in ICC T20I rankings
by Abhishek Rajan
Smriti Mandhana climbed to the fourth spot in the ICC T20I rankings on the back of her performances in the recently concluded tri-series between India, England and Australia.
Mandhana had started the tri-series at no. 7 in the rankings, but she went up by three places by scoring 216 runs in five games at an average of 43.20 and a strike rate of 136.70.
The left-hander played a sparkling inning of 66 in the final against Australia, but it wasn’t enough to drag India over the line as the women in blue finished as the runners up of the tournament.
India’s no. 3 batsman Jemimah Rodrigues has, however, slipped in the rankings after her dismal run in the tri-series. The 19-year old could score only 82 runs in five games at an average of 16.40.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who couldn’t finish off the game for India in the final of the tri-series despite the team being in a favourable position, hasn’t come down in the rankings and is still positioned at no. 9.
Legspinner Poonam Yadav has had to pay the price of her long absence from the game as she now finds herself at the 10th position in the world rankings of bowlers in T20 internationals.
Yadav, who was at no. 4 in the previous world rankings released by the ICC, couldn’t play a single game in the tri-series in Australia because of injury.
Published 14 Feb 2020, 18:37 IST