Mithali Raj moves up to fifth place in ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings, Tammy Beaumont at top

Veteran Indian women team skipper Mithali Raj has jumped from eighth to the fifth position in International Cricket Council’s Women’s ODI batting rankings, while opener Smriti Mandhana was dropped to the ninth position in the recently updated ranking on ICC’s official website. 

Mithali played a lone warrior’s innings with a gritty 72 off 108 balls against England women in their first of the three-match ODI series in Bristol. Other batters meagrely contributed runs with the likes of Mandhana could only add 10 in India’s tally of 201/8. The last time the Indian captain featured in the top five list was back in 2019. Meanwhile, England opener Tammy Beaumont, who smashed an unbeaten 87 in England’s eight-wicket triumph in the first ODI, dominates the batting charts with 791 ratings. 

Mandhana’s opening partner Shafali Verma, who became the youngest women player at the age of 17 to make her international debut in all three formats, entered the ODI list in 120th place. Senior bowler Jhulan Goswami retained her position of fifth-ranked in the bowlers’ list for ODIs with 681 ratings and Australia’s Jess Jonassen leads the charts with 808 ratings.