Smriti Mandhana jumps two places to world no. 4 in ICC Women's ODI batting rankings
Dubai, Feb 13: India opener Smriti Mandhana has jumped two spots to grab the fourth position in the latest ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for batters.
The 27-year-old from Mumbai surpassed South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, who slumped to fifth place after a lacklustre show in the ODI series against Australia.England's Nat Sciver Brunt, Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu and Australia's Beth Mooney occupy the top 3 positions in the batting chart, which also has India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur static at the 10th place.
Mandhana, who is set to represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women's Premier League, last played ODIs in the bilateral series against Australia. She had made 63 runs at an average of 31.50.
In the bowling chart, which is headed by England's Sophie Ecclestone, spinner Deepti Sharma slipped a place to number four. The Indian, however, moved a place to the fifth spot in ODI allrounder list.
Among bowlers, South Africa's Marizanne Kapp has climbed seven places to take the second position after grabbing four wickets in the last two ODIs against Australia.
An all-round performance of 75 and 3/12 in the second match in North Sydney that helped South Africa register their first ever ODI victory over Australia also helped Kapp retain eighth position in batting and consolidate her top ranking in the list of all-rounders.
Kapp increased her points tally from 658 to 668 in the batting rankings and from 388 to 452 in the all-rounders' rankings.
Chloe-Tryon is another South Africa all-rounder to gain in the latest weekly rankings update, moving up one place to 20th among batters.
She advanced seven places to 43rd among bowlers and reached the top 10 for all-rounders for the first time.
Anneke Bosche (up 13 places to 68th among batters) and Masabata Klaas (up two places to 24th among bowlers) have also gained.
Australia too had several players moving up in the rankings after completing a 2-1 win with all-rounder Tahlia McGrath progressing four places to 30th among batters.
Tahila was named Player of the Match in the final ODI after smashing 44 off 35 balls and claiming 3/23. She also rose five places to 60th among bowlers and to 21st in the list of all-rounders.
Alana King (77th in batting and 13th in bowling) and Kim Garth (96th in batting and 28th in bowling) have also made notable progress.
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Gujarat government to ban mobile phone in schools to counter negative effects of social media
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government will come up with new regulations aimed at reducing the influence of smartphones and social media on children.
A meeting on the issue was chaired by state Education Minister Praful Panseriya with senior officials on Thursday, during which he highlighted the adverse effects of excessive social media use on children. He emphasised that new rules would be implemented to reduce mobile phone usage and encourage greater focus on sports.
“Teachers will be banned from using mobile phones in the classroom, and strict measures will be taken to ensure that primary school children do not come to school with mobile phones,” the statement read under the new rules.
Panseriya said that their aim is to keep the kids away from the devices and bring them to playgrounds and study tables.
The minister further stated that a circular outlining these changes would be issued for children, parents, and teachers. The initiative will be developed in consultation with Children’s University, Teacher's University, and practicing psychiatrists.
Additionally, teachers will be encouraged to engage students in productive activities such as reading and sports instead of allowing smartphone use for social media. Parents will also be urged to limit their own social media use in front of children and and ensure the latter are not using smartphones.
The minister expressed hope that other states will follow Gujarat's lead and adopt similar measures.
