Shafali Verma breaks into top four of ICC T20I rankings after Asian Games, Asia Cup heroics

India's opener Shafali Verma has climbed two places to fourth in the latest ICC Women's T20I batting rankings following a prolific run in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, while teammates Deepti Sharma and N Shree Charani continue to occupy the top two positions in the bowling charts.

India's opener Shafali Verma has climbed two places to fourth in the latest ICC Women's T20I batting rankings following a prolific run in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, while teammates Deepti Sharma and N Shree Charani continue to occupy the top two positions in the bowling charts. Shafali moved past India's Smriti Mandhana and West Indies' Hayley Matthews to reach fourth with 756 rating points. Australia's Beth Mooney, Georgia Voll and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt retained the top three spots, according to ICC.

The 22-year-old carried her form from the Women's T20 Asia Cup into the Asian Games, scoring 64 and 68 in the continental tournament's semifinal and final, respectively. At the Asian Games, she made an unbeaten 40 in India's quarterfinal against Japan before smashing an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls against Bangladesh in the semifinal. The century was her maiden white-ball hundred in international cricket and made her the first woman to score a century in the Asian Games.

Shafali also played a key role in India's gold-medal triumph, scoring 48 in a blistering opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana in the final against Sri Lanka. India won the match by 147 runs to claim their second successive Asian Games gold in women's cricket. In the T20I bowling rankings, India's spin duo of Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma continued to lead the list, with both recording career-best rating points. Charani climbed 15 places, while Deepti rose 22 spots following their recent performances.

India's Kranti Gaud and Nandani Sharma also made gains, reaching 57th and 72nd, respectively. Pakistan batter Shawaal Zulfiqar moved up 16 places to 29th in the batting rankings with a career-best 558 points. She scored 25 in the Asian Games quarterfinal and 54 in the semifinal against Sri Lanka.

Her teammate Ayesha Zafar climbed 31 places to 40th with a career-best 489 points after scoring 71 against Sri Lanka. Zafar also rose nine places to 30th in the T20I all-rounder rankings. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana gained five places to reach 24th in the bowling rankings, while Thailand's Onnicha Kamchomphu moved up six spots to joint 63rd after taking three wickets against Pakistan.

Elsewhere, South Africa's 5-0 T20I series sweep against Zimbabwe brought further changes to the rankings. Anneke Bosch, the series' leading run-scorer, rose eight places to 46th, while youngster Miane Smit climbed to a career-best joint 53rd. Zimbabwe's Nyasha Gwanzura moved up 28 places to 87th in the bowling rankings, while South Africa's Annerie Dercksen reached a career-best rating of 179 in the all-rounder rankings, moving to 22nd.

India's triumph in the Asian Games final was powered by Mandhana's 79 off 45 balls and Richa Ghosh's unbeaten 49 off 22 deliveries, as the team posted 216/3. The bowlers then dismissed Sri Lanka for 69 in 15.4 overs, with Deepti taking 3/6 and Shafali and Shreyanka Patil claiming two wickets each. (ANI)