Deepti Sharma becomes No.1 bowler in T20I Rankings

Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma has become the number one T20I bowler for the first time in her career following her performance in the series opener against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt returned to No.1 in ODIs, going past Smriti Mandhana after the series against Ireland. Australia’s Annabel Sutherland was leading the rankings since August, but Deepti’s spell of 1/20 from four overs against the visiting Sri Lankan side in Vizag helped her in reaching the top of the rankings.

Deepti got five rating points from the Women in Blue’s eight-wicket win, and the 28-year-old player holds a one-point advantage over Australia cricketer in the rankings for T20I bowlers.

Mandhana is in second place in the latest rankings for ODI batters, with Wolvaardt returning to the No.1 spot courtesy of a hundred in the final game of the three-match ODI series against Ireland.

Wolvaardt amassed two consecutive hundreds in the second and third ODIs against Ireland with Proteas securing the series 3-0. South Africa’s skipper batted superbly to surpass Mandhana.

Deepti’s teammate Arundhati Reddy reached 36th spot following the clash against Sri Lanka, while Jemimah Rodrigues gained five spots to reach the ninth place overall.

Rodrigues posted an unbeaten fifty to claim Player of the Match award against Sri Lanka, and she is the third Indian batted to enter the top 10 list. Mandhana (third) and Shafali Verma (10th) are the two other batters. Sune Luus improved her ranking by seven spots to claim 34th place in ODI batters, and she improved 11 places to reach 22nd place in the ODI all-rounders category.

Ireland’s Arlene Kelly moved up five places to 27th on the list for ODI bowlers, while Gaby Lewis (18th) and Amy Hunter ( 28th) also made improvements.