Alana King and Smriti Mandhana Top ICC Women's ODI Rankings

King and Mandhana Achieve Top Rankings

New Delhi, March 3: In the latest ICC Women’s ODI Rankings update, Australia’s leg-spinner Alana King and India’s opener Smriti Mandhana have ascended to the top positions in bowling and batting, respectively.

Alana King has dethroned England's Sophie Ecclestone, who held the No.1 ODI bowler title for nearly four years. King’s impressive performance included seven wickets at an average of 16.71 in three ODIs against India, highlighted by a remarkable 4/33 in the third match, which contributed to Australia’s 185-run victory.

With a career-high rating of 775, King joins her fellow Australians in the top eight of the Women’s ODI bowling rankings, including Ash Gardner (3rd), Annabel Sutherland (5th), Megan Schutt (7th), and Kim Garth (8th).

In the all-rounder category, veteran Ash Gardner maintained her No.1 position with 516 points, significantly ahead of West Indies’ Hayley Matthews, who has 418 points.

On the batting front, Smriti Mandhana has climbed to the top with a rating of 790, surpassing South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt after scoring 58 and 31 in the ODI series against Australia.

Wolvaardt will have an opportunity to reclaim her top spot during the upcoming ODIs against New Zealand in March and April.

After a challenging T20I series at home, where Australia lost two matches, they rebounded to win all three ODIs in the multi-format series, with key contributions from Beth Mooney, Ash Gardner, and Alyssa Healy, who announced her retirement from ODIs.

Healy concluded her ODI career with a century in her final match, finishing fourth in the rankings with 744 points, while Mooney rose to third with 749 points, and Gardner slipped to fifth with 724 points.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur made a return to the top 10, sitting ninth with 652 points after scoring 53, 54, and 25 in the ODI series against Australia. Performers from South Africa’s ODI series against Pakistan also saw improvements in their rankings.

Sadia Iqbal’s bowling performance propelled her five spots up to 14th (583), while Fatima Sana advanced five spots to 15th (180) in the All-Rounder Rankings, surpassing Sune Luus, who moved up to 16th.

In T20I rankings, New Zealand’s series against Zimbabwe resulted in Amelia Kerr jumping seven spots to eighth in batting, while Rosemary Mair improved her positions in both bowling (14th) and all-rounder rankings (tied for 30th).

Kavisha Dilhari shone in the lone T20I between Sri Lanka and West Indies, moving up three spots to 13th (207) for all-rounders, with figures of 1/16 (3) and scoring 18 not out from 13 balls to secure victory for her team in St George’s.