Chamari Athapaththu becomes first Sri Lankan to top women's ODI rankings
Her two centuries against NZ saw her jump up six places to displace Mooney as the top-ranked batter
ESPNcricinfo staff
04-Jul-2023
Athapaththu led Sri Lanka to their first bilateral series win against New Zealand • Getty Images
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu shot up to the top of the women's ODI rankings for batters after her two unbeaten centuries in the series against New Zealand. She has thus become the first woman from Sri Lanka to top the ODI rankings.
Athapaththu climbed six places to displace Australia's Beth Mooney as the top-ranked batter in the format. She scored 108 not out in the first ODI against New Zealand to help Sri Lanka chase down 172 in a rain-affected game. After being out for a duck in the second match, which New Zealand went on to win, she blasted a stunning 140 off just 80 deliveries to help her team seal another rain-hit fixture and the series.
The left-hand batter now has eight centuries to go with her 15 half-centuries in ODIs.
Mooney, Laura Wolvaardt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana all dropped one spot each as Athapaththu moved up from seventh place in the rankings.
Athapaththu has now emulated another left-handed opener, Sanath Jayasuriya, who is the only Sri Lankan man to top the ODI batting charts.
During her whirlwind knock in the third ODI, Athapaththu put on 190 runs for the third wicket with Nilakshi de Silva, which is the highest partnership for Sri Lanka in women's ODIs. Her heroics helped Sri Lanka win their first bilateral series against New Zealand.