Smriti Mandhana touches career-best ranking points; holds third place in ICC rankings

Smriti Mandhana during the T20 International series between India and Australia. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India opener Smriti Mandhana has reached a career-best 741 points as she continues to maintain her third position in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings for batters released on December 13.

The Player of the Match in the second T20I against Australia, which ended in a tie before India won in the Super Over, gained 11 rating points to reach the landmark.

Australia’s Tahlia McGrath is the new No.1 in the rankings following her superb performances in the first two matches of the ongoing series against India underway in Mumbai.

The 27-year-old Australian had unbeaten knocks of 40 and 70 and overtook compatriots Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney as well as Mandhana to become the fourth Australian and 12th batter to top the women’s T20I rankings, according to ICC.

Mooney had been at the top since August 3 this year when she overtook Lanning.

McGrath is No. 1 after only 16 matches. The last woman to reach the top in fewer matches was West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor in 2010 (15 matches) while India opener Shafali Verma has been the fastest in recent years, reaching the top ranking after 18 matches.

Two more India batters, Shafali and Jemimah Rodriques, also figure in the list of top-10 T20I batters, with the former gaining a spot to be at sixth position.

In the T20I ranking for bowlers, India’s Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh Thakur have maintained their third and fourth spots respectively, with England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn up one place to second behind compatriot Sophie Ecclestone.