India all-rounder Deepti Sharma on Tuesday, December 23, created history by becoming the world’s top-ranked T20I bowler for the first time in her career. The International Cricket Council (ICC) updated its rankings, which saw Deepti topple Australia’s Annabel Sutherland to claim the number one spot.
This achievement comes on the back of Deepti’s impressive performance in the opening T20I match against Sri Lanka.
The off-spinner picked up one wicket while conceding only 20 runs in her four-over spell. Her contribution helped India register a comfortable eight-wicket win. Courtesy of her economical spell, Deepti earned five rating points from the match.
Deepti now stands at 737 rating points, which helped her overtake Sutherland, who has 736 points and had been holding the top spot since August.
Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal is placed third in the T20I bowlers’ rankings. Meanwhile, England’s Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell occupy fourth and fifth positions respectively. India’s Renuka Singh has slipped to 14th, while Radha Yadav is placed 15th.
In the ODI rankings, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt reclaimed the number one position after her brilliant series against Ireland. India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana slipped to second place.
Wolvaardt scored centuries in the final two matches, which helped South Africa secure a 3-0 series win.
Jemimah Rodrigues climbed five spots in the T20I batting rankings after her match-winning knock of 69 against Sri Lanka, which helped her break into the top 10. Smriti retained her third spot in that list.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz
