Smriti Mandhana, Renuka Thakur move up in ICC T20I rankings after Asia Cup

DUBAI: India's Smriti Mandhana moved up to fourth place in the list of batters, while seamer Renuka Singh Thakur was ranked fifth among bowlers, in the latest ICC T20I rankings issued on Tuesday.

India opener and vice-captain Mandhana, who scored a vital 60 in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, moved up one place to fourth with 743 rating points.

Among bowlers, Renuka, who snapped seven wickets in the tournament, is ranked fifth with 722 rating points as she moved up four places.

Renuka follows England's Sophie Ecclestone (772) and Sarah Glenn (760) at the first two spots respectively, compatriot Deepti Sharma (755) at third and Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal (743), who moved up one place to be ranked fourth.

Radha Yadav, who was Asia Cup’s fifth highest wicket-taker with six scalps, reached 13th after moving up seven places.

Australia’s Beth Mooney (769) and Tahlia McGrath (762) remained the top two batters, followed by West Indies’ Hayley Matthews (746) at the third spot and South Africa Laura Wolvaardt at the sixth.

The biggest gainer, however, was Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu who moved up three places to be ranked sixth with 705 points following her match-winning 61 in Asia Cup final against India.

"Inspirational Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu also reached new heights as she moved up three places to sixth on the same list to bring up a career-best rating following her Player of the Tournament heroics at the Asia Cup that included a whopping 304 runs at an average north of 100," the ICC said on its website.

After the conclusion of the Asia Cup, Pakistan’s Muneeba Ali moved up six places to 35th on the list for T20I batters and Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana rose three positions to reach 14th.

Sri Lanka's Harshitha Samarawickrama reached 20th after top-scoring with 69 not out in the final.