Mandhana named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year

Sports Desk: India’s Smriti Mandhana won the prestigious Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the best player of the year as well as the ODI Player of the Year at ICC Women’s Awards.

New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Pakistan bowler Sana Mir came second and third in the ODI Player of the Year category.

The left-handed opening batswoman Mandhana enjoyed a good year, helping India win ODI series against England, as well as series wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa in both T20I and ODI formats.

The 22-year old won the award after making 669 runs in a total of 12 ODI matches for India in 2018, slamming seven 50s along with a century against South Africa to average 66.90. Meanwhile, she hit five fifties in the shortest format in the year to become one of the only three to amass over 600 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 130.67.

“The awards are pretty special because as a player when you score runs, you want the team to win, and then when you get acknowledged for your performances through these awards, it motivates you to work harder and do well for your team,” she told ICC. “The century I scored in South Africa (in Kimberley) [135 off 129] was quite satisfying and then I had good home series against Australia and England.”

Agencies


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