Athapaththu becomes the first Sri Lankan to top ICC women's ODI rankings
Her two centuries against NZ saw her jump up six places to displace Mooney as the top-ranked batter
Cricket PassionEditor
Posted - 2023-07-04T18:04:08+06:00
Updated - 2023-07-04T18:04:08+06:00
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu shot to the top of the ODI women's batsmen rankings after going unbeaten against New Zealand for two centuries in the series.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu became the first player from her country to top the MRF Tires ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings after starring in a 2-1 series win over New Zealand in the ICC Women's Championship.
The left-handed opener emulated Sanath Jayasuriya, who was the only Sri Lankan player to top the men's ODI batting list for 181 days between September 2002 and May 2003.
Athapaththu's two centuries in three games has lifted her six places, overtaking the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt and edging out Australia's Beth Mooney, who has been at the top of the pop charts since May 10.
Athapaththu moved up six places, edging out Australia's Beth Mooney as the top-ranked hitter in the format.
Athapaththu scored 108 points in the first ODI against New Zealand which helped Sri Lanka score 172 points in a rain marred game. After failing to duck in the second game that New Zealand eventually won, she shot an impressive 140 points from just 80 shots, helping her team seal another rainy game and the series.
The left-hander now has eight centuries to go, along with her 15 half-centuries in ODIs.
Only two other Sri Lankan players have achieved first place in the women's rankings, both in 2014 – Udeshika Prabodhani (T20I bowling) and Shashikala Siriwardene (T20I all-rounders).
Athapaththu, who has achieved all of her country's top 10 individual scores in the women's ODIs, currently has the highest score ever by a Sri Lankan woman in the ODIs at 758 score points. The next best value is only 587 from Dedunu Silva, who also has the second highest rank, reaching 11th place in April 2010.
Other Sri Lankan players moving up are Kavisha Dilhari (up 19 spots to 37th among batters) and Prabodhani (up 14 spots to 32nd among bowlers).
Athapaththu has now emulated it with Sanath Jayasuriya, another left-handed opener who is the only Sri Lankan man to top the ODI batting charts.
During her whirlwind third ODI, Athapaththu hit 190 runs for the third wicket with Nilakshi de Silva, which is Sri Lanka's highest partnership in women's ODIs. Their exploits helped Sri Lanka win their first bilateral series against New Zealand.