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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UP: 3 killed, 18 injured as trolley carrying devotees plunges into canal in Kushinagar
Kushinagar (UP) (PTI): Three women were killed and around 18 others were injured after a tractor trolley carrying devotees overturned and plunged into the Gandak canal in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred near the Siswa regulator under the Khadda police station limits at around 8 pm on Wednesday, when the trolley, which was transporting nearly 25 devotees, overturned.
According to police, the devotees were travelling from Mamkhor Barhara village in Maharajganj district's Ghughli area to attend the Chaitra Ram Navami Varni fair at Bhaisaha Ghat when the accident occurred.
Preliminary findings indicate that the accident happened when the hook connecting the trolley to the tractor broke, causing it to overturn and fall into the canal, officials said.
A total of 21 people sustained injuries and were rushed to the Kushinagar Medical College, where doctors declared Meera Devi (57) dead.
Later, two more women, Kismati Devi (51) and Nirmala (45), died during treatment, bringing the total death toll to three, officials added.
Khadda Station House Officer Sandeep Singh said that some passengers managed to jump off the trolley and save themselves.
The bodies of the deceased have been sent for a post-mortem examination, and further investigation into the incident is underway, police added.
