Smriti Mandhana achieves personal best in ICC Women’s T20I batting ranking; Lauren Bell cracks top 5 among bowlers

India’s superstar left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana continues her remarkable rise in international cricket, surging up the ICC Women’s T20I Batter Rankings following her maiden T20I century against England. The stylish opener blazed her way to 112 runs in Nottingham, not only leading India to a massive 97-run victory but also reaching a career-best rating of 771 points in the updated rankings.

Smriti Mandhana’s century sets stage for ranking battle with Beth Mooney and Hayley Matthews

With four more T20Is left in the England-India series, the battle for the No. 1 T20I batter ranking promises to be a thrilling subplot. Mandhana’s 771 points put her firmly in contention against current leader Beth Mooney and Hayley Matthews .  She is now just 23 points behind top-ranked Mooney (794), and a mere 3 points behind West Indies skipper Matthews (774), who holds the second position. Mandhana wasn’t the only Indian batter to benefit from a strong showing in the series opener.

Shafali Verma, returning to the Indian T20I side for the first time since October 2024, also climbed the rankings ladder. The hard-hitting opener made a brisk 20 off 22 balls, moving up one place to No. 13 on the T20I batter rankings.  Another key performer was Harleen Deol, who re-entered the T20I batting charts after a stellar 43 off just 23 deliveries. Deol had last played a T20I back in July 2023, and had since dropped out of the rankings due to inactivity. Her re-entry at joint 86th place signals a strong comeback, and another solid knock could see her break into the top 50 soon.

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England’s Lauren Bell surges among T20I bowling elite

While Mandhana lit up the batting charts, England’s Lauren Bell made waves with the ball. The tall right-arm pacer picked up three wickets during India’s innings and climbed two spots to reach a career-best fourth place on the ICC T20I bowling rankings. Bell is now on the verge of overtaking India’s Deepti Sharma (735 points) and Australia’s Annabel Sutherland (736 points). The top of the bowling leaderboard is tighter than ever, with just 19 rating points separating the top five bowlers. Lauren’s teammate Sophie Ecclestone suffered a drop as she fell to fifth position from the fourth place. As the series progresses, all eyes will be on the high-stakes battle between India’s top guns and England’s potent bowling lineup  and on whether Bell an finally achieve T20I world No. 1 status or not.

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