Mithali Raj climbs to the No.1 position in ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings

In the latest MRF Worldwide International Cricket Council Player Rankings for batting update, Indian skipper Mithali Raj has climbed to the top of the table jumping from fifth up four places to first with a total rating of 762. This is the eighth time in her stellar 22-year international career she has held the top spot.

In second is South African Lizelle Lee with a rating of 758, sitting in third place is Australian Alyssa Healy with a rating of 756, England batter Tammy Beaumont dropped three places to fourth with a rating of 754 and having dropped one place to sit in the fifth-ranked spot in West Indies' Stafanie Taylor. Also on the list retaining her ninth rank spot is Indian Smriti Mandhana.

A series-topping aggregate of 206 has helped her reclaim the top position 

Mithali Raj had started the tour of England in the eighth position but her series-topping aggregate of 206 runs has helped her reclaim the top position, which she had last occupied in February 2018. The first time she reached the number one position was in April 2005 after scoring an unbeaten 91 against New Zealand at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Potchefstroom and the difference of more than 16 years at No.1 is the largest for any woman batter.

The Indian Women's team on July 2 managed to salvage some pride by winning the final match of the series against the England Women's team having lost the initial two games of the three-match ODI series. A brilliant batting performance from skipper Mithali Raj and opener Smriti Mandhana helped the women in blue to secure the four-wicket win with 3 balls to spare.

The 38-year-old not only played a match-winning knock on July 2 but also surpassed Charlotte Edwards to become the leading run-getter in women's international cricket. Raj went past Edwards's 10,273 runs with a boundary off Natalie Sciver. Currently, the third spot in the list is occupied by New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who has scored 7849 runs in 247 matches. Bates is followed by West Indies' Stefanie Taylor, with 7834 runs in 256 matches while Australia's skipper Meg Lanning, with 7024 runs in 199 games caps off the top five.

Next up for the Women in Blue is the three T20 matches starting July 9 at the County Ground in Northampton as they look to end the Tour of England with a bang.

(Image Credits: @BCCIWomen/Twitter)