Malhotra said India will be strong contenders to land the title in the showpiece, citing the right blend of youth and experience in the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad.
Harmanpreet led from the front with her seventh women's ODI century as India defeated England by 13 runs in a high-scoring decider in Chester-le-Street, Durham on Tuesday to clinch the three-match series 2-1, following their 3-2 triumph in the WT20Is earlier.
The severe backlash that the Indian cricket team faced before its Asia Cup clash against Pakistan was a major contributing factor to the 'No Handshake Policy.
The next two Indian batters in the list after Mandhana are Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who are placed 14th and 15th respectively.
Meanwhile, England fast bowler Lauren Bell moved up two places to reach fourth in the rankings for bowlers after her three-wicket haul in the first T20I against India.
India were served well by their top order batters with each of them hitting their stride to make significant contributions, even as the middle order players did not get going.
India's women's team will hope to produce a strong all-round effort against a tricky Sri Lanka and win the ODI tri-series final in Colombo on Sunday.
Pakistan women's cricket team captain Fatima Sana draws inspiration from India's World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni
England beat India by eight wickets in rain-affected 2nd women''s ODI to level series 1-1
Star India batter Smriti Mandhana on Saturday admitted that her maiden T20 International hundred in the first match against England "took a long time coming" but was relieved to achieve the feat as she "had a habit of getting out".
The Indian men's and women's cricket teams, led by captains Shubman Gill and Harmanpreet Kaur, met King Charles III, at St. James's Palace.
Sneha Rana's maiden five-for, Rawal's excellent fifty power India to 15 run-win over South Africa
An unbeaten half-century by Deepti Sharma guided India to a four-wicket win over England in the first Women's ODI in Southampton on Wednesday.
Delhi Capitals dished out an all-round effort to comfortably beat former champions Mumbai Indians by nine wickets
A historic maiden women's T20 series victory over England already assured, India failed to end the series on a high, losing the inconsequential fifth and final match by five wickets in a last-ball thriller, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
Yuvraj, Mithali give pointers for Indian women's at the Trophy unveiling ceremony in Mumbai on Monday. The ICC Women's World Cup commences on September 30.
India registered a dominant six-wicket win in the fourth T20I to seal their first-ever women's T20I series victory against England. With the win on Tuesday, the visitors have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Smriti Mandhana's elegant maiden ton leads India to 97-run win over England in 1st T20I
India eye maiden women's T20I series win over England; hosts to miss injured skipper Brunt
Indian women's team vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to become the first Indian to play in the Women's Big Bash League after the 27-year old all-rounder was signed by defending champions Sydney Thunder franchise. The move was confirmed after the BCCI gave its nod to women team's cricketers to participate in foreign T20 leagues on Friday.
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews carried Mumbai Indians to their second WPL final as their power-packed knocks laid the cornerstone for the team's 47-run win over Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator in Mumbai
Harmanpreet Kaur's quickfire fifty and Nat Sciver-Brunt's fine all-round showing lifted Mumbai Indians to their second Women's Premier League title.
Indian women's cricket team skipper Smriti Mandhana created history on Wednesday by smashing the fastest century in One-Day Internationals by an Indian woman cricketer.
India's batting faltered at the death as England held their nerves to pull off a narrow five-run win in a thrilling third women's T20 International on Friday.
Champions New Zealand have three members in the world team announced by the ICC on Monday, including 12th player Eden Carson, while runners-up South Africa also have three.
Mumbai Indians suffered a two-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in their opening match, which was marred by a few controversial run-out decisions.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and pacer Renuka Singh Thakur have been rested for India women's three-match home ODI series against Ireland.
Mumbai Indians will take confidence from their emphatic victory against Gujarat Giants in their penultimate league game on Monday.
Rejuvenated by their thrilling super-over win over RCB, UP Warriorz will look to continue their momentum when they take on an upbeat Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League match in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Delhi Capitals produced a splendid bowling effort before their batters, led by Niki Prasad, survived some anxious moments to register a narrow two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller in the Women's Premier League
Powered by the all-round brilliance of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews, Mumbai Indians head into the Women's Premier League final as favorites to claim their second title, while Delhi Capitals hope to break their title jinx in what promises to be a thrilling showdown in Mumbai on Saturday.
UP Warriorz's 12 runs win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru knocked the defending champions out from the race to the play-offs on Saturday, confirming qualification for Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants in the process.
As part of the home season, India are scheduled to host West Indies and South Africa and therefore, the members are likely to decide on the venues for the those Test series.
India along with New Zealand and Pakistan are in contention for the last remaining semi-final spot from Group A.
Shafali Verma, dropped from the India ODI squad, has the full backing of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who is eager to see the aggressive opener back in her "zone"
Nilakshika Silva's blistering 33-ball 56 powered Sri Lanka to a thrilling three-wicket victory over India in the women's Tri-series, ending a seven-year losing streak against their rivals.
Harmanpreet Kaur climbed to the joint ninth spot while opener Smriti Mandhana remained fourth in the latest ICC Women's ODI rankings
Harmanpreet Kaur was on Thursday retained as India captain for the three Women's ODIs against New Zealand while the selectors also picked four uncapped players for the series starting October 24.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
India's Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have retained their third positions in the latest ICC Women's T20I batter and bowlers' rankings respectively, released on Tuesday.
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