Shafali Verma Rises to Number 1 in the Latest Batting Rankings

shefali verma T20

shefali verma

Ahead of the semi-finals clash against England to be played on 5th March, the 16-year-old Shafali Verma has taken the world by storm as she jumps 19 places up to number 1 in the latest ICC T20I batting rankings announced on Thursday.

Playing her first international tournament on the big stage, Verma has shown her hitting abilities and created fear among opposition bowlers. In the opening match against Australia played at Sydney Showground, Sydney 21st February, Verma was superb with her stroke play and hit a quickfire 29 off 15 balls with 5 fours and 1 six. She provided a flying start along with Smriti Mandhana adding 41 runs in 4.1 overs.

SHAFALI verma

In the second match played against Bangladesh on 24th February at WACA Stadium, Perth, Verma was simply sensational with her power-hitting scoring 39 off just 17 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes. For her brilliant knock, Verma was awarded the player of the match.

Shafali Verma again showed great hitting abilities in the third Group A match against New Zealand on 27th February. She smacked 46 off 34 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes which laid a strong foundation for competitive total despite middle-order collapse. Chasing 113 runs in the final league match against Sri Lanka, Verma dominated the opposition bowlers with 47 off 34 balls with 7 fours and 1 six.

Shafali Verma has been the standout performer for the Indian team in World T20 so far with 161 runs from 4 matches (4 innings) and is leading runs scorer. Verma has not been able to convert starts into big scores. The 16-year-old Rockstar will be eager to perform in the semi-finals against England and led India into their maiden T20 World Cup finals.

Shafali Verma made her T20I debut for India against South Africa on 24th September 2019. Since then she has played 18 matches with a total of 485 runs and the highest score of 73 against West Indies.

Smriti Mandhana

The stylish left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana has slipped two places down to number 6th. She has not been in great form so far and would be looking to save her best for the semi-finals against England. Jemimah Rodrigues also slipped down to number 9th in rankings.

In the bowler’s rankings, Sophie Ecclestone moves up to the number 1 position with good performances in the league stage.

The right-arm off-spinner Poonam Yadav who has taken 9 wickets from 4 matches including 4 wickets in the opening match rises four places up to number 8th. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav are 5th and 7th respectively.

Here we look at the latest T20I batting rankings for women

  1. Shafali Verma (India)- 761
  2. Suzie Bates (New Zealand)- 750
  3. Beth Mooney (Australia)- 746
  4. Sophie Devine (New Zealand)- 742
  5. Meg Lanning (Australia)- 708
  6. Smriti Mandhana (India)- 701
  7. Alyssa Healy (Australia)- 689
  8. Stefanie Taylor (West Indies)- 661
  9. Jemimah Rodrigues (India)- 658
  10. Natalie Sciver (England)- 636

ICC Bowlers rankings for women

  1. Sophie Ecclestone (India)- 779
  2. Megan Schutt (Australia)- 753
  3. Shabnim Ismail (South Africa)- 745
  4. Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)- 740
  5. Deepti Sharma (India)- 723
  6. Jess Jonassen (Australia)- 719
  7. Radha Yadav (India)- 712
  8. Poonam Yadav (India)- 704
  9. Ellyse Perry (Australia)- 702
  10. George Wareham (Australia)- 671