Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud surge in ICC Women’s T20I bowling rankings

India’s Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud have achieved notable gains in the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings after strong performances against Zimbabwe, while Australia’s Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland and Ellyse Perry climbed in the ICC Women’s ODI Rankings following Australia’s 3-0 series sweep of Bangladesh.

Hyderabad: India’s Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud have made significant gains in the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings following their team’s unassailable 2-0 series lead over Zimbabwe in Raipur, while Australia’s Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland have advanced in the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings after a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh.

Right-arm seamer Nandani has surged 26 places to 45th in the T20I Bowling Rankings after taking three wickets across the first two matches against Zimbabwe, including two for 11 in the series opener. She has also reached a career-best 507 rating points. Teammate Kranti has climbed nine places to 43rd after taking one for 16 runs in the series opener and one for 15 in the second match.

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India’s T20 vice-captain Shafali Verma struck 55 from just 25 deliveries in the second match and remains fourth in the Women’s T20I Batting Rankings. Her teammate Deepti Sharma has moved up one place to joint-37th after scoring 49 from 37 balls in the opening match.

Zimbabwe’s Kelis Ndhlovu has risen three places to 64th in the Batting Rankings after scoring 42 in the first match. Teammate Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano has climbed seven places to 73rd, while Josephine Nkomo has moved up three slots to 91st. Sharne Meyers has returned to the top 100, gaining 19 places to reach 96th after scoring an unbeaten 43 from 33 balls in the series opener.

New Zealand batters Georgia Plimmer and Maddy Green have advanced in the rankings following their tightly fought opening T20I against Australia in North Sydney, despite the hosts securing a two-wicket victory.

Plimmer scored a career-best 85 not out and shared an unbeaten 127-run third-wicket partnership with Green to help the White Ferns post 162 for two. The innings marked a significant return for Plimmer, whose previous 54 T20I appearances had yielded an average of 16.16. She has climbed 13 places to 48th in the Batting Rankings.

Green has moved up three slots to 34th and reached a career-best 528 rating points. Australia’s Ellyse Perry anchored the chase with 52 from 30 deliveries. Although she remains 16th in the Batting Rankings, Perry has reached a career-best 633 rating points in the format which she first played in February 2008.

New Zealand’s Jess Kerr took three wickets for 25 runs and has advanced five places to 17th in the bowlers’ list. Teammate Bree Illing has climbed six places to a career-best 23rd, while Nensi Patel has moved up five slots to her own personal-best 35th.

Earlier in Brisbane, Australia completed a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s Championship with an eight-wicket victory in the third ODI, with Megan Schutt’s outstanding bowling performance helping set up the win.

Schutt took four wickets for 16 runs in her 10 overs, including five maidens, as Bangladesh were reduced to 45 for four. She finished the series with 10 wickets to be named Player of the Match and Player of the Series, climbing to fourth in the Women’s ODI Bowling Rankings.

Australia’s Annabel Sutherland and Ellyse Perry both scored unbeaten half-centuries in the final match. As a result, Sutherland has gained four places to reach a career-best 13th in the batting rankings, with 642 rating points. Perry has moved up one place to ninth in the same list, led by India’s Smriti Mandhana, and made a 14-slot leap to joint-25th in the all-rounders’ list.

Bangladesh also made gains despite the series defeat. Sharmin Akhter has moved up five places to 25th among the batters after scoring a half-century, while Shorna Akter has climbed 16 places to joint-86th.