Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur rise in recent Women’s ODI rankings

Team India’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and batting star Smriti Mandhana moved one spot above in the latest ODI rankings, which were released on September 19. Notably, India’s opener Mandhana has climbed to the fourth spot, whereas the star middle-order batter Kaur grabbed the seventh position ahead of the Asian Games 2023. In addition, English star all-rounder Natalie Scriver-Brunt grabbed the top spot in the recently released ODI rankings after her wonderful performance against Sri Lanka.

Notably, both of India’s star batters are currently in China and gearing up to win medals in the marquee events set to start on September 21 at Hangzhou, where they will be facing Malaysia in their first game. However, Team India has directly qualified for the quarterfinals owing to their T20I rankings. The side will be led by India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana in the first two matches, as regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur got a ban from the Apex Cricket Council as she intently hit the stumps and criticized the on-field umpires during the third ODI against Bangladesh for her dismissal in July this year.

Team India are favourites to win the gold medal in the Asian Games 2023

Meanwhile, Team India are favourites to win the gold medal in the Asian Games owing to their magnificent performances against the Asian sides. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has already won the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022, which were held in Birmingham.

Women’s Cricket Knockout Schedule At Asian Games 2023

India vs Malaysia – Quarterfinal 1 (6:30 AM IST) – September 21
Pakistan vs Indonesia – Quarterfinal 2 (11:30 AM IST) – September 21
Sri Lanka vs Thailand – Quarterfinal 3 (6:30 AM IST) – September 22
Bangladesh vs Hong Kong – Quarterfinal 4 (11:30 AM IST) – September 22

Team India (Senior Women) squad for 19th Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk.), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk.), Anusha Bareddy

Standby list of players: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar