Dubai, Sep 29 (IANS) India’s Sree Charani has set a new record for the highest-ever rating in the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings, with the left-arm spinner reaching a career-best 817 points following her impressive performances in Japan.

Already the world No. 1-ranked T20I bowler, Charani moved clear of the previous record of 806 rating points, set by Australia’s Megan Schutt in November 2018.

Charani was instrumental in India's successful journey and helped India defend their gold medal in Japan maintaining her good form at the Asian Games.

In the Asia Cup, Charani took 12 wickets, including a remarkable performance of 4/20 in the final match against Sri Lanka, helping India win the game by 72 runs and thus securing the title for the eighth time.

At the Asian Games, Charani achieved her career-best performance of 4/10 against Japan and helped India to reach the semifinals. She then secured two wickets in the gold-medal match versus Sri Lanka, which India won by 147 runs, raising her rating to the record high of 817 points.

India’s Deepti Sharma also climbed in the T20I Bowling Rankings after taking three wickets in the Asian Games final. She now has 754 points and sits second, while England’s Sophie Ecclestone is third with 723.

Smriti Mandhana, India's opening batter, moved back into the top five of the ICC Women’s T20I Batting Rankings following her score of 79 in the final of the Asian Games against Sri Lanka.

There were also considerable changes in the ODI rankings as a result of the ongoing series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies in Harare, the series being tied 1-1 at the moment.

Hayley Matthews, all-rounder for the West Indies, moved up three places to fourth in the ODI Batting Rankings after accumulating 711 points, although she is still three points away from her best-ever rating of 714. This improvement came on the back of her record-breaking score of 182 in the first ODI.

Realeanna Grimmond, her teammate, moved up by 34 places to share the 102nd position with 270 points.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Nyasha Gwanzura reached a significant position in the ODI Bowling Rankings, having played a decisive part in her team's win in the second ODI; she scored 18 not out and achieved bowling figures of 4/33, which were her best ever, and thus moved up 52 places to 156th.

Zimbabwe batter Modester Mupachikwa also moved 16 places to a career-best 40th with 492 points after scores of 86 and 38 across the two matches.

Francisca Chipare climbed 26 places to joint 123rd following figures of 2/57 and 2/16, while West Indies bowlers Ashmini Munisar and Aaliyah Alleyne also advanced. Munisar moved up 23 places to joint 84th after taking four wickets at an average of 10.5 across the two matches, while Alleyne rose eight places to 58th after figures of 3/44 in the first ODI and 2/27 in the second.

Australia's Ashleigh Gardner continues to hold the number one position in the ODI All-Rounder Rankings with 497 points, whereas Matthews is at the top of the T20I all-rounder rankings with 502 points.

Alana King is at the top of the ODI Bowling Rankings with 753 points, and Beth Mooney is leading the T20I Batting Rankings with 785 points. After her performance as Player-of-the-Tournament in the T20 World Cup final, Mooney has regained the lead from her Australia teammate Georgia Voll, who has 779 points.

Mandhana is still in the number one position in the ODI Batting Rankings with 790 points, having scored eight points more than South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, who has 782.

--IANS

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