The young Indian protege, Shafali Verma, has reached the no.1 position in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 International (T20I) rankings on Wednesday. She has amassed as many as 161 runs in four matches in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup.

Shafali, who went past New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, is only the second Indian cricketer after former captain Mithali Raj to lead the women’s T20I rankings. In terms of bowlers, England’s Sophie Ecclestone, who has scalped eight wickets so far in the Women’s T20 World Cup, is donning the no.1 position in the latest ICC rankings.

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India, riding on Shafali’s explosive batting at the top of the order, has reached the semi-finals of the tournament and will face England in the semi-final clash on Thursday. India, along with South Africa, were the only two teams in the competition that remained unbeaten in the league stages. 

Shafali Verma has risen a remarkable 19 places to claim the top spot among batters.

She's just 18 T20I matches and 16 years old 🤯@MRFWorldwide | #ICCRankings pic.twitter.com/CfTYSnaNIc

— ICC (@ICC) March 4, 2020

Shafali, who came into the World Cup with 742 points, gained 19 points owing to her dominating to her batting performances and is on top with 761 points. India’s opening batter Smriti Mandhana lost two points, and she is at sixth place in the rankings with 701 points.

In the bowler’s list, three Indian players have managed to stay in the top 10. Deepti Sharma is at the fifth position while Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav claimed seventh and eighth positions, respectively.

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New Zealand’s Sophie Devine has retained the no.1 position in the all-rounder’s list after a poor show from Australia’s Ellyse Perry in the World Cup. Australia retains the no.1 position in the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in the second position with 278.