Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma are having an excellent time of it in the ODI series in Sri Lanka, and have shot up the ICC ODI player rankings because of their returns in the two matches so far, both of which India have won.
A day after India won the second game by ten wickets in Pallekele, Shafali, who hit a bruising unbeaten 71 in the 174 chase, moved up 12 places to a career-best 36th among batters. Shafali, also the No. 5 in the T20I batting chart, leads the runs tally in the series with 106 runs, scored at a strike rate of 95.49.
Deepti, meanwhile, has made gains in both the batting and the bowling rankings. Her offspin has brought her 3 for 25 and 2 for 30 so far, and that has taken her up three spots to No. 16 in the bowlers' list. And her unbeaten 25 in the first ODI helped her climb two batting spots to No. 29. Deepti is now within one point of equalling Australia's Ash Gardner, currently ranked sixth, on the allrounders' table.
Renuka Singh, the spearhead of India's pace attack with Meghna Singh at the moment, was another gainer. Just four ODIs old, 26-year-old Renuka bettered her previous best in Monday's second ODI, where she took 4 for 28. This lifted her 38 places to No. 65 on the bowling table that is currently headed by South Africa's Shabnim Ismail.
For Sri Lanka, batter Nilakshi de Silva gained 13 spots to reach No. 57 after tallying 75 runs in the two matches, while Hasini Perera - up 16 places to 83rd - and Anushka Sanjeewani - up nine places to 89th - are the others to gain positions.
In the rankings for bowlers, former captain Inoka Ranaweera, the left-arm spinner, is now ranked No. 21, on the back of her four-for in the first ODI.
While these are still early days in the new cycle of the ICC Women's Championship, a 3-0 series sweep on Wednesday will help India catch up with current toppers South Africa on six points. A Sri Lanka win in the last game will help them draw level with India and Pakistan on four points.