Deepti Sharma on cusp of gaining top spot in rankings
India spinner Deepti Sharma is on the cusp of becoming the No.1 ranked bowler in T20I cricket after she moved within eight rating points of top spot on the latest ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings.
Deepti has sat inside the top 10 rankings for T20I bowlers for the majority of the last six years, but the 27-year-old has never held the top position despite the fact she has maintained great consistency in recent times.
The latest update to the T20I rankings has seen Deepti gain one spot and overtake Australia pacer Annabel Sutherland to regain second place on the rankings, with the right-armer now just eight rating points behind Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal at the top of the rankings.
Deepti earns her latest rise on the back of a three-wicket haul in the third game of India's five-math T20I series against England and the off-spinner could claim top position from her Pakistan rival with some strong performances over the final two contests in the series.
Teammate Arundhati Reddy is also on the rise, with the seamer gaining 11 places to jump to equal 43rd on the list for T20I bowlers following her own three-wicket haul in the most recent match of the series against England at The Oval.
There were gains for a host of England bowlers too following their narrow five-run triumph at the iconic London venue, with pacers Issy Wong (up three spots to equal 57th) and Lauren Filer (up 21 rungs to equal 68th) the two biggest risers as fellow quick Lauren Bell maintained fourth spot on the rankings.
Australia's Beth Mooney maintains her narrow advantage at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, though there is some change just outside the top 10 following some strong performances from players from England and India in their ongoing series.
India dynamo Jemimah Rodrigues gains two places to move to 12th overall after she contributed a half-century in the second match of the series in Bristol, while openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley are the big winners from an England perspective following their superb partnership at The Oval.
The pair put on 137 for the opening wicket in decent time to help setup England's victory, with Wyatt-Hodge improving three spots to 14th on the T20I batter rankings as a result and Dunkley gaining four places to move to 26th on the same list.
There is also some gains for England's premier spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who jumps three places to eighth on the list for T20I all-rounders following a career-best contribution of 35 with the bat during the second match of the series in Bristol.
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Express Tribune
08-07-2025
- Express Tribune
Deepti Sharma on cusp of gaining top spot in rankings
The race for the top ranking for T20I bowlers tightens as a host of players from England and India make gains on the latest batter rankings. India spinner Deepti Sharma is on the cusp of becoming the No.1 ranked bowler in T20I cricket after she moved within eight rating points of top spot on the latest ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings. Deepti has sat inside the top 10 rankings for T20I bowlers for the majority of the last six years, but the 27-year-old has never held the top position despite the fact she has maintained great consistency in recent times. The latest update to the T20I rankings has seen Deepti gain one spot and overtake Australia pacer Annabel Sutherland to regain second place on the rankings, with the right-armer now just eight rating points behind Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal at the top of the rankings. Deepti earns her latest rise on the back of a three-wicket haul in the third game of India's five-math T20I series against England and the off-spinner could claim top position from her Pakistan rival with some strong performances over the final two contests in the series. Teammate Arundhati Reddy is also on the rise, with the seamer gaining 11 places to jump to equal 43rd on the list for T20I bowlers following her own three-wicket haul in the most recent match of the series against England at The Oval. There were gains for a host of England bowlers too following their narrow five-run triumph at the iconic London venue, with pacers Issy Wong (up three spots to equal 57th) and Lauren Filer (up 21 rungs to equal 68th) the two biggest risers as fellow quick Lauren Bell maintained fourth spot on the rankings. Australia's Beth Mooney maintains her narrow advantage at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, though there is some change just outside the top 10 following some strong performances from players from England and India in their ongoing series. India dynamo Jemimah Rodrigues gains two places to move to 12th overall after she contributed a half-century in the second match of the series in Bristol, while openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley are the big winners from an England perspective following their superb partnership at The Oval. The pair put on 137 for the opening wicket in decent time to help setup England's victory, with Wyatt-Hodge improving three spots to 14th on the T20I batter rankings as a result and Dunkley gaining four places to move to 26th on the same list. There is also some gains for England's premier spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who jumps three places to eighth on the list for T20I all-rounders following a career-best contribution of 35 with the bat during the second match of the series in Bristol.
Express Tribune
11-05-2025
- Express Tribune
UAE retires all batters in ICC Asia Qualifiers
UNUSUAL TACTICS: UAE women's team celebrates the dismissal of a Qatar batswoman in the opening match of the ICC Asia Qualifiers in Bangkok on Saturday. PHOTO: ICC The United Arab Emirates (UAE) women's cricket team astonishingly retired all 10 of their batters during their 163-run victory over Qatar in the Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier match here at the Terdthai Cricket Ground on Saturday. Opting to bat first, UAE openers Esha Oza and Theertha Satish came out all guns blazing and put together a quickfire 192-run stand in just 16 overs. Skipper Oza spearheaded the only partnership of the UAE's innings with a century. She remained the top-scorer for the UAE with 113 off 55 deliveries, studded with 14 fours and five sixes. Her fellow opener, Satish, on the other hand, made 74 off 42 balls, laced with 11 boundaries. With the scoreboard reading 192/0 in 16 overs, UAE made a surprising decision of dismissing themselves by retiring out all of their batters – the first such instance in a women's or men's T20Is. As a result, UAE's 192 became the highest all out score in a women's T20I. Qatar were thus set a target of 193 in 20 overs, but a combined bowling effort from UAE booked them for a meagre 29 in 11.1 overs. Opening batter Rizpha Bano Emmanuel waged a lone battle for Qatar with a 29-ball 20 up the order, while the rest of their batters failed to amass double figures, out of which seven fell for a duck. Nine teams competing in ICC Asia Qualifiers The road to qualification for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 resumed on Friday with the start of the Asia Qualifiers in Bangkok, where nine nations are competing in the hope of extending their journey through to England and Wales. Twenty-one matches will take place across 12 days, spanning two venues in the Thai capital, and the opening day sees the host nation take on Kuwait at Terdthai Cricket Ground (TCG), while Nepal play Hong Kong China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face off against Malaysia, both at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) ground. The format for the event will see Thailand, Kuwait, and Bhutan compete in Group A, UAE, Malaysia and Qatar form Group B and Nepal, Hong Kong China and Bahrain in Group C. Following an initial round robin phase which concludes on 16 May, the winners of each of the three groups advance to a Super Three stage, with another round of fixtures ultimately determining the top two teams that will progress to the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifier – the final stage on the road to England and Wales 2026. All matches in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Asia Qualifier will be available to watch live on while fans in the Asian subcontinent can follow the action on FanCode. The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales will see a greater number of teams (12) and matches (33) than ever before. Venues and dates for the pinnacle T20 event were announced last week in a special launch event, where it was revealed that Edgbaston, Hampshire Bowl, Headingley, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, The Oval and Bristol County Ground will host matches from 12 June, with a highly anticipated final set for Lord's Cricket Ground on 5 July. Eight teams have already gained automatic qualification to the event; holders New Zealand, Australia, England, India, South Africa and the West Indies by virtue of their performances at the 2024 edition, plus Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who were the two next highest ranked teams on the ICC Women's T20I rankings table on 21 October 2024. The four remaining spots will be determined through a ten-team Qualifier, comprising Bangladesh, Scotland and teams that have advanced from regional pathway events including USA as Americas Qualifier champions, two teams from the Asia Qualifier and others that advance from subsequent competitions held in Africa, Europe and the East Asia-Pacific later this year.
Express Tribune
14-10-2024
- Express Tribune
India's T20 WC hopes in Pak hands
SHARJAH: India were left hoping old rivals Pakistan can rescue their Women's T20 World Cup dreams after suffering an agonising nine-run loss to defending champions Australia on Sunday. Australia made sure of their semi-final spot by topping Group A with a perfect four wins from four matches. India, on four points after two wins and two losses, must hope that Pakistan beat New Zealand on Monday to leave the second semi-final place to be decided on net run-rate. A win for the Kiwis, however, will put them into the last-four and eliminate India. "It's something which is not in our control," admitted India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Six-time champions Australia overcame the absence of skipper Alyssa Healy to become the first team to guarantee a semi-final berth. Tahlia McGrath led Australia after Healy dropped out with a foot injury, suffered while batting in a victory over Pakistan on Friday. Healy's replacement Grace Harris top-scored with 40 and McGrath hit 32 as Australia posted 151-8 after electing to bat first. In reply, India finished on 142-9 with Kaur hitting an unbeaten 54 as she put on a fourth-wicket stand of 63 with Deepti Sharma, who made 29, and took the fight to the final over. India needed 14 off the last six balls, but lost four wickets as Australian bowler Annabel Sutherland gave away just four runs. The victory extended Australia's winning streak to 15 in the tournament. "We want to win every game we play," said McGrath. "We knew it was going to be a really big challenge for us today. They came really hard at us. I am just really proud of the group. We held our nerve at the end there." Meanwhile, Pakistan stand-in skipper Muneeba Ali said her team has not given up hope of squeezing into the semi-finals. As well as beating New Zealand on Monday, Pakistan also have to significantly improve a run-rate which is inferior to that of both the Kiwis and India. "We know that the pool is still open. We have a chance to win tomorrow's match and if we win by a good margin, we have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals," said Muneeba. Pakistan will be boosted by the return of skipper Fatima Sana who missed the nine-wicket loss to Australia after briefly returning home following the death of her father. In Group B, England crushed Scotland by 10 wickets with openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge putting on an unbeaten century partnership. England restricted Scotland to 109-6 in 20 overs after left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone returned figures of 2-13 in a disciplined bowling attack. England romped home with 10 overs to spare as Bouchier hit 62 off 34 deliveries, earning herself player of the match honours as her team closed in on a semi-final spot.
