Deepti Sharma’s haul of eight wickets in three games at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup has given her a two-spot boost to No. 6 on the ICC’s rankings for Women’s T20I bowlers, a table headed by her team-mate N Shree Charani, who has seven wickets from her three outings so far. The performance of the two spinners, as well as newbie Prema Rawat, made India the first team to enter the semi-finals of the tournament.
Deepti was the top-ranked bowler in the world in December last year, but has since been upstaged by Shree Charani. England’s Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Lauren Bell and South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba are slotted between Shree Charani and Deepti, but the gap between the No. 1 and the No. 6 is only 70 points.
Along the way, Deepti also moved past Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong to become the highest wicket-taker in Women’s T20Is. She got to the peak after returning 3 for 0 in 1.1 overs against Thailand in the tournament opener for either side. Putthawong, meanwhile, has moved up four slots to 47th after picking up five wickets in three games.