In the latest released ICC Women’s T20I Rankings, Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has leapfrogged West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews along with India’s Deepti Sharma and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine to achieve her career-best No.1 spot.
Notably, Gardner had a wonderful time in the recent five-match T20I series against India, where she showcased her skills for pulling Australia out of trouble on most occasions. She scored 115 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 167 and bagged seven wickets at an economy rate of 7. Gardner was named Player of the Match in the last game for her 32-ball unbeaten 66 and bowling figures of 2/20. This is the first time the Aussie has topped the all-rounders’ list.
“Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has made notable progress in the latest weekly update to the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after helping her team score a series-clinching seven-run win in the fourth match against India on Saturday. Gardner, who was named Player of the Match for scoring 42 runs and grabbing two for 20, has advanced one place to ninth in the list of batters,” read an ICC release.
India’s star Deepti was another player who grabbed attention with her eye-catching performances in the home series against Australia. She has grabbed the No.3 position amongst the all-rounders’ after scoring 128 runs at a strike rate of 164 and taking six wickets at an economy rate of 9.46.
Indian opener Smriti Mandhana has maintained her third spot in the batters’ category headed by Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney. Similarly, Shafali Verma, who will be leading India at the Under-19 World Cup next month, is placed at sixth position in the top 10 batters in T20Is.
In the rankings for bowlers, West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews has advanced three places to fourth and moved one slot to second among all-rounders after picking up five wickets in three matches.
