ICC Women’s T20I ranking: Deepti Sharma rise to joint 2nd in bowling rankings, Renuka at 10th spot
At the top of the T20I bowlers' rankings, Englishwoman Sophie Ecclestone continued to be unopposed.
Eying a semi-final berth in the ICC Women's World Cup, India rode on the fifties by Deepti Sharma and Mithali Raj to post a strong total of 232/8 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Derby on Wednesday.
At the helm, wicketkeeper-batsman Sushma Verma and Ekta Bisht were batting at 11 and nought, respectively.
After winning the toss, India opted to bat first against the Islanders. However, openers Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana failed to put a strong start and lost their wickets cheaply for 16 and eight runs, respectively.
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Following their departure, Deepti and captain Mithali ignited India’s hopes at a crucial time. Deepti scored 78 off 110 balls, while Mithali struck impressive 53 runs at a strike rate of 67.94.
Deepti, the 19-year-old southpaw from Uttar Pradesh, hit 10 boundaries to lift the Derby crowd off their feet. Mithali slammed four boundaries in her 78-ball knock.
The duo put up 118 runs for the third-wicket partnership, highest in the Indian innings.
For Sri Lanka, pacer Sripali Weerakkody led the bowling attack and claimed three wickets in the shape of Raut (16), Harmanpreet Kaur (20) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29).
Inoka Ranaweera took the scalp of Raj (53) and Jhulan Goswami (9), while Chandima Gunaratne and Ama Kanchana dismissed Mandhana and Sharma, respectively, to join the party.
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