Deepti Sharma Rises to No. 2 in ICC T20I Bowling Rankings, Smriti Mandhana Slips to Second in Batting

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Dubai, Aug 12: India's star all-rounder Deepti Sharma has climbed to second place in the latest ICC Women's T20I bowling rankings, inching closer to the top spot. Deepti, with 732 rating points, now shares the No.2 position with Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal and trails Australia's Annabel Sutherland by just four points.

Sutherland, who became the No.1 ranked T20I bowler for the first time, leads with 736 points despite not featuring in the format since March, when she took a four-wicket haul against New Zealand. Her position remained intact as several bowlers near the top lost rating points over the past week.

Iqbal, on the other hand, slipped from the top after managing only three wickets in Pakistan's 1-2 series defeat to Ireland, losing crucial points in the process.

Deepti continues to maintain her third-place position in the T20I all-rounders' rankings with 387 points, behind West Indies captain Hayley Matthews (505) and New Zealand's Amelia Kerr (434).

In the batting charts, stylish Indian opener Smriti Mandhana dropped one spot to second with 728 points, allowing England's Nat Sciver-Brunt (731) to take the top position. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur made significant progress, jumping 10 places to reach 11th, just outside the top 10.

The latest rankings also brought good news for Ireland's in-form all-rounder Orla Prendergast, who has climbed to a career-best 19th in the T20I player standings. The right-hander delivered a standout performance for Ireland in their recent 2-1 series victory over Pakistan, with the 23-year-old excelling with both bat and ball to rightfully secure the Player of the Series award.

The right-hander scored an impressive 144 runs across the three matches at an average of 72 and complemented her batting heroics with four crucial wickets using her effective medium pace. Her all-round display propelled her to a career-best position, climbing eight places to 19th among T20I batters and rising three spots to sixth in the T20I all-rounders' rankings.

Ireland's Laura Delany (up five spots to joint 50th) and Rebecca Stokell (up five to 77th) also moved up in the T20I batting charts. On the Pakistan side, Muneeba Ali (up three places to joint 32nd) and Fatima Sana (up four to 59th) made notable progress on the same list following their contributions in the series.

With the ICC Women's T20 World Cup on the horizon, these ranking shifts underline the growing competition among the world's best, as players from multiple nations jostle for the top positions across formats.