Chamari Athapaththu returns to the top of the Women's ODI batting rankings

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, who scored an unbeaten 195 in just 139 balls to help Sri Lanka register a stunning win over South Africa in their final ODI in Potchefstroom last week, has reached the No. 1 spot in the ICC’s batting rankings for women’s ODIs as well.

Chamari Athapaththu scored an unbeaten 195

However, Athapaththu’s knock broke several records in women’s cricket, including the highest individual score in a successful ODI chase as well. It was also the second-highest individual score in a successful ODI chase across women’s and men’s cricket after Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup as well.

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However, while chasing South Africa’s 301 for 5, where Laura Wolvaardt smashed an outstanding 147-ball 184 not out – which took her series tally to 335 runs – Sri Lanka reached the finish line in just 44.3 overs as well. The second-best individual score for Sri Lanka came from Nilakshika Silva who scored 50 not out in 71 balls.

Laura Wolvaardt placed third in the rankings

Following that knock, Chamari Athapaththu achieved her highest-ever rating of 773 on the ICC rankings as well and moved past Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has 764 points. Laura Wolvaardt, who had entered the top five in the rankings, moved up two more spots, past Beth Mooney and Smriti Mandhana, to third place as well.

Hayley Matthews, on the other hand, jumped seven spots to reach No. 11 on the same table after scoring an unbeaten 140 and 44 in West Indies’ wins over Pakistan in the first two ODIs of their three-match series as well. Among bowlers, Sadia Iqbal, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, moved up six places to be in the top 20 players after returns of 2 for 38 and 1 for 36 in the two games against West Indies as well.