Mithali Raj is now the No.1 in ICC ODI batsman rankings with 753 rating points. The Indian skipper has beaten Australia player Ellyse Perry to reach the top spot. Perry has 725 rating points followed by Amy Satterthwaite, Meg Lanning and Suzie Bates. Before the recently released rankings, it was Lanning who was leading the list. On the other hand, Jhulan Goswami is on the second position in ICC ODI Women Bowler rankings. Goswami is breathing down South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp’s neck with a difference of just four rating points between them. India have now No.1 batsman in both ICC ODI batsman rankings and ICC ODI batswoman rankings. Virat Kohli dethroned AB de Villiers to regain the top spot after 10 days.
Meanwhile, defending champion Australia’s 2-1 victory over England in the ICC Women’s Championship series has not only helped them garner four useful points but also regain the top spot in the women’s team rankings.
England had displaced Australia from the top spot for the first time after the annual update earlier this month,
Starting the series ahead on decimal points with both teams on 128 points, Australia made the most of the home conditions to prevail despite the absence of first-choice captain and leading batter Meg Lanning, going up to 129 points and ensuring a two-point lead in the process.
Teams get two points for each win, one point for a tie or no-result and no points for a loss in the ICC Women’s Championship, which will see ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 hosts New Zealand and the three other top teams gain direct qualification to the pinnacle women’s 50-over event.
The remaining four sides will get a second chance through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier event. India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are the other sides in the ICC Women’s Championship, which runs till 2020.
(with inputs from PTI)
