Dubai [UAE]: Australian cricketers made big gains in the latest ICC Women's Player Rankings released on Tuesday.
According to a release from the ICC, India's left-hander Smriti Mandhana closed in on the top spot for ODI batters in the latest rankings.
After cruising to a recent 3-0 series sweep over India at home, the reigning ICC Women's Cricket World Cup champions saw a group of their best performers rewarded with improvements in the latest rankings update.
Player of the Series Annabel Sutherland rose 15 places to 29th in the ODI batters rankings, while also gaining four spots to 20th on the list for bowlers and climbing three positions to ninth among all-rounders, following her 122 runs and six wickets across the three matches.
Teammate Ash Gardner also made notable gains, with the 27-year-old moving up one place to 16th among batters, two spots to third among bowlers, and climbing two positions to second among all-rounders after taking seven wickets across the series.
Another Australian, Tahlia McGrath, improved eight spots to 24th among ODI batters, while Mandhana was the big mover from an Indian perspective after the opener scored her ninth ODI century in the final game of the series against Australia in Perth.
Mandhana gained three places to second overall and is now just 39 rating points behind South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt at the top of the rankings for ODI batters.
Australia seamer Megan Schutt closed the gap on England spinner Sophie Ecclestone at the top of the rankings for ODI bowlers, with South Africa's speedster Marizanne Kapp (up two places to fourth) and in-form spinner Charlie Dean (up two spots to seventh) among those players making ground.
There is also some joy for Indian players on the latest T20I rankings following the opening game of their series with the West Indies, with Jemimah Rodrigues (up six spots to 15th) the big improver on the list for batters following her half-century in Mumbai.
Teammate Deepti Sharma improved two places to close in on Ecclestone and move to second on the list for T20I bowlers following her two-wicket haul at DY Patil, while a trio of West Indies players also made gains.
Veteran all-rounder Deandra Dottin (up 21 places to 39th) and Qiana Joseph (up 22 places to 65th) made improvements in the T20I batter rankings, while spinner Karishma Ramharack (up six spots to 20th) jumped up the list for T20I bowlers. (ANI)