India’s veteran batter Harmanpreet Kaur has made significant strides in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Rankings, reaping the rewards of an intense domestic training regimen following her decision to step down from the captaincy.
However, it was a mixed update for the Indian side, as current skipper Smriti Mandhana yielded the top position in the batters’ table to South African captain Laura Wolvaardt.
Harmanpreet’s Relentless Pursuit of Form
Having relinquished leadership duties after guiding India to a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in Japan, the 36-year-old Harmanpreet has re-found her devastating best with the bat.
After launching the Zimbabwe tour with an unbeaten 91 in the T20I leg, Harmanpreet carried that momentum into the 50-over format, striking a commanding century in the second ODI. This run of form secured an unassailable lead for India in the three-match series and boosted her individual standing in the global rankings.
Speaking to teammate Deepti Sharma in a BCCI feature, Harmanpreet attributed her resurgence to gruelling home sessions:
“I have practised a lot at home. The more you bat, the more confident you get. I batted in the morning, afternoon, and evening — three sessions,” Harmanpreet explained. “Looking at my age, I like to spend a lot of time on my fitness. More than that, I batted a lot because I felt like batting was lacking a little.”
Wolvaardt Dethrones Mandhana at the Top
While Harmanpreet enjoyed a climb up the ranks, India opener and current captain Smriti Mandhana experienced a brief slump. Following scores of 32 and 0 in recent matches against Zimbabwe, Mandhana dropped from the summit of the ODI batting rankings.
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt capitalised on the slip to take over the No. 1 spot.
Despite Mandhana’s quiet series with the bat, India’s middle order stepped up emphatically, with twin centuries from Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma sealing the ODI series victory with a match to spare.
UPDATED ICC WOMEN'S ODI BATTERS (TOP SHIFTS)
+------------------------+------------------+-----------------+
| Player | Team | Movement / Rank |
+------------------------+------------------+-----------------+
| Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | Rose to #1 |
| Smriti Mandhana | India | Dropped from #1 |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | India | Gained Ground |
| Deepti Sharma | India | Up 4 places (#23)|
| Pratika Rawal | India | Up 7 places (#21)|
+------------------------+------------------+-----------------+
Deepti and Pratika Highlight Indian Gains
It wasn’t just the senior stars making headlines in the latest rating refresh:
-
Deepti Sharma: The all-rounder was one of the biggest gainers of the week, jumping four places to 23rd in the ODI batters’ list, moving up two spots to 4th among all-rounders, and advancing to 8th in the ODI bowling rankings.
-
Pratika Rawal: The youngster continued her upward trajectory, surging seven spots to reach a career-best 21st in the ODI batting standings.
-
T20I Standings: Both Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana made positive movement in the T20I batting rankings, each advancing one spot to land at 3rd and 4th, respectively.
Zimbabwe Trio Make Big Strides
Despite the series loss, Zimbabwe’s squad had plenty to celebrate in the individual rankings update:
-
Beloved Biza achieved the largest leap of the week, vaulting 16 places to 56th.
-
Modester Mupachikwa climbed five spots up to 39th.
-
Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano moved up four places to settle at 47th.
