Rating India's top-5 women's ODI batters in 2022
The Indian Women's Cricket Team had a memorable year in 2022. With its fair share of heartbreak (yes, the dreaded game in the World Cup) and success, the Women in Blue won the Asia Cup and finished as runners-up in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
The growth of women's cricket in the country has been evident to see, with the team making progress on the international stage. The team's batting unit has played its part in that too, going toe-to-toe with the likes of Australia and England, two of the best sides in the world right now.
On that note, take a look at the ratings for India's top five batters in One Day Internationals in 2022.
#1 Harmanpreet Kaur (9/10)
The Indian captain has thrived in the leadership role ever since taking over the permanent captaincy after the retirement of Mithali Raj. Unlike her predecessor, Harmanpreet Kaur is much more animated on the field and usually believes in leading by example.
She was India's leading run-scorer last year, scoring 754 runs at an average of 58 and a strike rate of nearly 90. Going along with five half-centuries, she has also scored a couple of hundreds.
The first of those hundreds came in a crunch game against the West Indies at the ODI World Cup in February 2022. She also recorded the highest score by an Indian women's player in ODIs in 2022, scoring a belligerent unbeaten 143 against England at Canterbury, which helped India clinch a memorable 3-0 series win.
#2 Smriti Mandhana (9/10)
Smriti Mandhana has been one of India's most consistent batters in all formats. The elegant left-hander from Sangali scored 696 runs in 15 matches in 2022, averaging 49.71 at a strike rate of 81.21.
The vice-captain of the Women in Blue scored six half-centuries and a century in One Day Internationals last year, churning out runs for fun. Her only century came against the West Indies in the World Cup, where she scored 327 runs in 7 matches.
She continued to be at the top of her game in the series against England and Sri Lanka, scoring 181 runs and 104 runs respectively. Mandhana had an excellent year in all formats and will be looking to carry on the same form into 2023.
#3 Mithali Raj (7/10)
A player who needs no introduction, the former Indian captain was the team's third-highest run-scorer in ODIs in 2022, despite playing only 12 matches. Mithali Raj scored 414 runs at an average of 41.40 in 2022, before retiring after India got knocked out in the World Cup.
In 12 matches, she recorded five half-centuries with the highest score of 68. She scored 232 runs in five matches in the series against New Zealand in the build-up to the World Cup. She also scored 182 runs in the tournament,
Towards the latter end of her career, Mithali did get some stick for her approach and strike rate on a few occasions. She retired from the game as the second-highest run-scorer in World Cups (1321 runs), only behind Debbie Hockley (1501 runs), and also as one of Indian cricket's greatest batters of all time.
#4 Yastika Bhatia (6/10)
2022 was a stop-start year for Yastika Bhatia and her participation with the Indian side. She scored 376 runs in 16 matches this year, averaging 25.06 at a strike rate of 73.29. After breaking through into the Indian side in 2021, she cemented her spot in the World Cup with some impressive performances against Australia and New Zealand.
The Baroda batter scored 178 runs in 6 matches at the WC, including back-to-back fifties against Australia and Bangladesh. Yastika has faced some stiff competition for her spot on the side, mostly from Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh.
Offering more than one skillset as a wicketkeeper, the 22-year-old is also offers a left-handed option to the side. She has also batted in a few positions in the batting order, with her best run of performances coming in the number three slot. However, the southpaw batter will need to add a bit more consistency to her game to remain a constant feature on the side.
#5 Shafali Verma (7/10)
Shafali Verma is one of India's most destructive batters in recent times, earning a reputation as a dasher ever since making her debut. In 15 matches last year, she scored 367 runs at an average of 26.21 and a strike rate of 88.86.
2022 was a mixed bag of a year for the 18-year-old from Rohtak. She had three fifties and three ducks this year, struggling with a consistent run of performances.
Shafali scored only 104 runs in 4 matches at the World Cup. Her knock of 53 against South Africa in the final league match was a crucial one, almost helping her team get over the line.
She had a good outing in the three-match series against Sri Lanka, scoring 155 runs. However, her year in ODIs ended on a disappointing note against England, where she only scored 9 runs in three matches.