Smriti Mandhana loses her No.1 ODI ranking to Laura Wolvaardt as Harmanpreet Kaur climbs

Smriti Mandhana has lost the No.1 place in the ICC women's ODI batting rankings to South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, in an update that lifted four of her India team-mates

The International Cricket Council released its latest women's player rankings on Tuesday, and the change at the head of the ODI batting list was the one that carried most weight in India. Laura Wolvaardt moved back above Smriti Mandhana to reclaim first place, a position the two have passed between them more than once in recent seasons.

Mandhana shed rating points over the first two matches of India's ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe and dropped to No.2. It is the series in which she has taken over as India's ODI captain.

The rest of the update read considerably better for India. Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Pratika Rawal and Kranti Gaud all climbed, and Deepti improved her standing on all three one-day lists.

Wolvaardt returns to the top

The swap at the summit was a matter of small margins. Wolvaardt gained ground over the same period in which Mandhana lost it, and the South African returns to a place she has held before.

Mandhana's two innings against Zimbabwe were modest by her own standards, and the points she conceded were enough to settle the order between them.

She stays ahead of the rest of the list in second, and the third ODI in Vadodara gives her an immediate chance to begin recovering the ground.

Harmanpreet climbs to eighth

Harmanpreet Kaur rose two places to eighth among ODI batters, her reward for a century in the second match of the series.

Deepti Sharma, who scored a hundred in the same game, moved up four places to 23rd on the batting list. The two centuries in a single innings were the defining passage of India's series win.

Deepti's larger gains came elsewhere. She climbed two places to fourth among ODI all-rounders and one place to eighth among ODI bowlers, leaving her inside the top ten in two disciplines at once.

That combination is the reason she has become difficult to leave out of any India side, whatever the format or the conditions.

A career best for Pratika Rawal

Pratika Rawal was the largest India mover on the ODI batting list, rising seven places to 21st. It is the highest position she has reached.

Kranti Gaud advanced two places to 25th among ODI bowlers, continuing a steady climb through the list.

Both are products of the depth India have built in the format over the past two years, and both are now inside the top 25 of their respective lists.

Zimbabwe's batters gain ground

Zimbabwe have yet to win a match on the tour, but three of their batters were rewarded for their work in the first two ODIs.

Modester Mupachikwa rose five places to 39th and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano four places to 47th.

The largest single jump in the whole update belonged to Beloved Biza, who climbed 16 places to 56th. For a side still searching for a first win of the series, the movement up the lists is a measure of individual progress rather than collective reward.

Shafali Verma rises in the T20I list

The T20I rankings moved in India's favour as well. Shafali Verma went up one place to third among T20I batters, with Mandhana a place behind her in fourth.

Australia's Ash Gardner was the sharpest climber on that list, up nine places to 19th. Among the T20I bowlers, her team-mates Georgia Wareham and Kim Garth moved to equal seventh and equal tenth respectively.

New Zealand had two climbers of their own in that list, with Bree Illing up six places to 17th and Nensi Patel advancing to 29th.

India and Zimbabwe close the series in the third and final ODI at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Wednesday, with India already 2-0 ahead and a clean sweep the only thing still at stake.

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