Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has climbed to a career-best sixth place in the ICC Women’s T20I Batting Rankings, leading a broad set of gains for the national side in the rankings update released on Tuesday.
Athapaththu moved up one place and reached a career-high 729 rating points after scores of 39 from 22 balls and 40 from 15 in the first two matches of the T20I series against Pakistan in Dambulla, which Sri Lanka won to take the series.
Dulani’s leap
The biggest riser among the Sri Lankan batters was Imesha Dulani, who advanced 33 places to 23rd. Dulani’s unbeaten 101 from 64 balls in the opening T20I — her maiden century in the format — carried Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win.
The gains extended to the one-day rankings after Sri Lanka took the ICC Women’s Championship ODI series 2-1 in Hambantota. All three of the side’s half-centurions in the decider moved up: Harshitha Samarawickrama, who made 71 not out from 92 balls and was named Player of the Series, rose four places to a career-best 13th; Athapaththu, with 52 from 38 balls, jumped three places to 18th; and Hasini Perera, who made 50 from 77 balls, moved up two to 35th.
Pakistan players also gain
Pakistan recorded movements of their own. Muneeba Ali reached a career-best 538 rating points, rising four places to 30th, while Shawaal Zulfiqar was the week’s largest mover anywhere on the T20I batting table, climbing 869 places to a career-best 52nd on the back of innings of 63 and 48.
In the ODI rankings, Gull Feroza’s 40 from 35 balls in a losing cause lifted her nine places to 45th and into the top 50 for the first time. Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu, who conceded just 23 runs from her full ten overs, moved up three places to 10th and returned to the top ten of the Women’s ODI Bowling Rankings.
Sri Lanka’s white-ball results against Pakistan followed the ODI series win in July and the T20I series sealed on August 2.
Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, ICC.
