Cricket news roundup – 26th February 2019: New Zealand scale new heights, India Women beat England, rain spoils St George’s ODI

New Zealand reached the second spot in ICC Test rankings for the first time in their history; India Women clinched the 3-ODI series against England Women with a resounding victory at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai; not a single ball was bowled in the third ODI between West Indies and England, at National Cricket Stadium, St George’s Grenada; and Suresh Raina completed 8,000 T20 runs in T20 cricket.

Kiwis take flight

For the first time in their history, New Zealand have reached the No. 2 spot in ICC Test rankings. An excellent season – including a first ever win in UAE against Pakistan – saw them rise to the third spot, with 107 points.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s 0-2 defeat against Sri Lanka saw them slide to 105, below New Zealand. Sri Lanka enjoyed a rise, to 93, and are at sixth point. India (116) continue to lead the table.

Eves seal series

India Women beat England by 7 wickets in the second ODI, at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Batting first, England Women were reduced to 14/3 in the seventh over by Jhulan Goswami (4/30) and Shikha Pandey (4/18).

Then Nat Sciver (85) came to their rescue, adding 30 with Tammy Beaumont (who fell to a spectacular catch by Deepti Sharma at deep square leg) and 49 with Laura Winfield.

The lower order caved in, and it took a special effort from Sciver to take them to 161. Sciver added 42 for the last wicket with Alex Hartley, who did not score a run.

India lost Jemimah Rodrigues for a duck, but Smriti Mandhana (63) sealed the chase with stands of 73 with Punam Raut and 66 with Mithali Raj. India won by 7 wickets with 53 balls to spare.

Damp squib at St George’s

Rain prevented any play from taking place in the third ODI between West Indies and England, at St George’s. The toss took place after an hour’s delay (Eoin Morgan asked West Indies to bat) but not a single ball’s cricket was possible.

West Indies had fielded an unchanged side, while England recalled Alex Hales for an injured Ben Stokes and a now-fit Chris Woakes for Tom Curran.

8,000 for Raina

Suresh Raina became the first Indian and sixth overall batsman to score 8,000 T20 runs. Chris Gayle (12,298), Brendon McCullum (9,922), Kieron Pollard (8,838), Shoaib Malik (8,603), and David Warner (8,111) are the only ones to have scored more T20 runs than Raina.

Raina reached the milestone yesterday in a Syed Mushtaq Ali match for Uttar Pradesh, one of his five T20 teams. He has also played T20Is for India and T20s for representative Indian sides as well as IPL for Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Lions.