Mithali Raj Back In Top 5 Batters In The ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings

India women’s team ODI captain Mithali Raj has reentered the top 5 of the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings’ latest update. This came after an amazing inning of 72 against England in the ODI series opener at Bristol. There are still 2 more ODIs to go in the series.

The 38-year-old, who has recently completed 22 years in international cricket, led the side to 201/8, rescuing them from a precarious 27 for two, however, the total was not enough to defend, as England made short work in their chase. England will be defending their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title in New Zealand next year.

Mithali Raj Back In Top Five Batters For The First Time Since October 2019

The Indian captain, who had made her ODI debut in style in 1999 against Ireland, scoring 114* at Milton Keyes, now has the second-longest career for any Indian international cricketer behind Sachin Tendulkar. Mithali has played 215 ODIs to date, scoring 7170 runs with 7 centuries to her name at an average of 51.21 and the highest score of 125*. She has also hit 56 half-centuries in ODIs as well.

Mithali, who had led India to the final of the last World Cup played at Lord’s in 2017, has gained three slots to reach the fifth position after the Bristol knock. Raj returned to the top five batters rankings for the first time since October of 2019. The right-handed batswoman holds the record for most half-centuries in women’s ODIs, and is the only one to score seven consecutive 50s in ODIs, and was the first woman to play 200 ODI matches.

Opener Shafali Verma, who made her ODI debut scoring 15 runs, entered the ODI rankings in 120^th place. All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar re-entered the women’s ODI rankings in 97^th place among batters and 88^th among bowlers.

On the other end, England opener Tammy Beaumont solidified her position as the no.1 ranked ODI batter, after her player of the match effort, gaining 26 rating points to reach 791 after her unbeaten 87. Nat Sciver’s 74-run innings sees her move to the eighth spot in the latest women’s ranking update, which is carried out on Tuesdays.

Also Read: WTC Triumph Is The Greatest Achievement Of My Coaching Career: New Zealand Bowling Coach Shane Jurgensen