Indian Vice Captain Smriti Mandhana moves up to the third spot in the ICC T20I rankings after bringing her historic maiden T20I ton against England in the 1st T20I.
Smriti Mandhana, who has been the best all-format batter for India Women in recent years, was one big knock away from getting her maiden ton in the T20I format. In the 1st T20I between India and England, she finally accomplished her maiden ton in the T20I format with her 112(62).
With this historic knock, she became the first-ever Indian batter to score a century in all three formats. Her ton paved the way for India to set a target of 214 for England. In return, Indian spinners demolished their batting order and won the match by 97 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 5-match T20I series.
Mandhana Eyes T20I Top Spot After Historic Century
With her maiden ton, Smriti Mandhana gained points in her Women T20I batting ranking and has now moved into the top 3 in the rankings. Already ranked as the No. 1 batter in ODIs, Mandhana is now closing in on the top position in T20Is as well. She currently holds 771 rating points, just behind Hayley Matthews (774) and leader Beth Mooney (794).
Smriti Mandhana felt very happy with the knock and revealed that she worked hard to improve her T20I skills, which she felt didn’t come naturally to her:
“It’s a nice feeling because this format is something which, for me as a batter, I need to keep pushing and keep improving. It’s not a very natural format for me,” Mandhana noted.
“I like to time the ball; (I’m) not a big hitter of the ball and, for the last six years, it’s always (been) a work in progress and it’s still a work in progress. So, to actually get a hundred in this format, getting it before in Test cricket and one-day cricket — which are more suited to my batting — but getting it in this format is pretty special because it’s not one of my strengths,” she concluded.
Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol Make Gains in Latest ICC T20I Rankings
Along with Smriti Mandhana, her T20I opening partner Shafali Verma also gained some points in her rankings, as she is currently placed 13th in the T20I rankings. Harleen Deol was the other player who entered the rankings in 86th position after her fiery knock of 43, as announced by ICC.
Watch all these players in action once again in the 2nd T20I against England at the County Ground.
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