England and India players made significant gains in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings following strong performances in the first two matches of the ongoing series.
With the series level at 1-1 and everything to play for in the decider, the first two ODIs between England and India delivered thrilling contests, with standout performances reflected in the latest ICC Women’s Player Rankings released on Tuesday.
Deepti Sharma was one of the biggest movers in the batting rankings after her unbeaten 62 in the first ODI, which earned her the Player of the Match award and guided India to a successful chase of 259. She followed it up with another unbeaten 30 in the second ODI, which, despite coming in a losing cause, helped her climb 10 spots to No.23 in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur faced the heat of her ordinary form with scores of 17 and 7 in the first two ODIs, dropping five places to No. 21 in the batting rankings.
Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana remained steady at the top of the rankings after registering scores of 28 and 42 in the first two matches while maintaining her rating of 727.
Sophia Dunkley’s 83 off 92 balls in the first ODI played a key role in taking England to a strong total and earned her a jump of 24 places to No.52. On the other hand, Alice Davidson-Richards, who contributed with a solid 53, rose 40 spots to No.118.
In the ICC Women’s ODI bowling rankings, world No.1 Sophie Ecclestone strengthened her position at the top with four wickets in the series so far, including a Player of the Match-winning 3/27 in the second ODI. Her rating jumped from 747 to 776, further extending her lead over Aussie duo Ashleigh Gardner (724) and Megan Schutt (696), who round out the top three.
Notably, finger spinners have dominated the series so far, with England’s Charlie Dean and India’s Sneh Rana picking up three wickets each. Dean broke into the top 10, climbing two places to No.9 with a career-best rating of 625 while Rana jumped 12 spots to No.21, also reaching a personal best rating of 515.
Dean also made progress in the ICC Women’s All-rounder Rankings, moving up to joint 14th alongside Australia’s Ellyse Perry. Ecclestone’s quick unbeaten 23 off 19 balls in the first ODI, combined with her four wickets in the series, helped her climb three spots to 18th in the all-rounders list.