Mithali Raj stays at number 2 spot in ICC ODI women\'s rankings

Dubai: India skipper Mithali Raj maintained her second spot in the ICC Women's ODI player rankings even as New Zealand batter Amy Satterthwaite moved up to number three after a splendid show in the series-opener against India.

Raj made 59 off 73 balls in India's 62-run defeat in the first ODI of the five-match series in Queenstown.

Satterthwaite, who smashed a 67-ball 63 and was involved in an important 98-run third wicket partnership with opener Suzie Bates, has overtaken Australia's Beth Mooney with a gain of 13 rating points.

She is now 15 rating points behind Raj, who is second with 744 in the list led by Australia opener Alyssa Healy who has 749 rating points.

Bates' 11th ODI hundred, which helped her team take a 1-0 lead in the series, has lifted her into the world's top 20 batters in ODIs for the first time in six months.

The former captain has advanced five places to 17th position in the latest weekly update that includes the last match of the Australia-England series.

Australia completed their Ashes triumph with another comfortable victory in the final ODI in Melbourne last week.

Tammy Beaumont returned to form for England with a half-century, as did Meg Lanning with an unbeaten 57, allowing both batters to gain three places for their efforts.

Beaumont and Lanning are now in fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with just one rating point separating them.

In the bowlers' list, England spinner Sophie Ecclestone was a bright spark in the final ODI, bowling her 10-over allocation and conceding just 18 runs while dismissing Rachael Haynes, taking an an excellent catch off her own bowling.

She has moved a place up to second, closing in on the opportunity to top both the ODI and T20I bowling rankings at the same time.

Ellyse Perry's return to all-round excellence also enabled her to gain three places with the ball and increase her lead over second placed Nat Sciver in the all-rounders' table to an impressive 87 rating points.

New Zealand's Lea Tahuhu is up four places to 13th and India's Rajeshwari Gayakwad is up five places to 16th. Both bowled economically in the first ODI in Queenstown to move up in the world's top 20 ODI bowlers.

In the T20I rankings, Beth Mooney is back in her third stint as the top ranked batter with captain Meg Lanning also gaining a slot to reach second position. India opener Shafali Verma is now third in the list.

New Zealand bowlers Amelia Kerr is up five places to eighth and her sister Jess Kerr is up 16 places to 34th, also making notable gains in the T20I rankings.