Dubai [UAE], January 7 (ANI): India’s Smriti Mandhana, Australia’s Annabel Sutherland, and South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba have emerged as the leading contenders for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for December 2024.
Smriti Mandhana, India’s star batter, showcased her class during a challenging tour of Australia and the subsequent home series against the West Indies. After a slow start in the first two ODIs against Australia, where she was dismissed cheaply, Mandhana bounced back in spectacular fashion with a scintillating century in the final match, scoring 105 off 109 balls.
She carried this momentum into the series against the West Indies, recording two half-centuries in ODIs and three consecutive fifties in T20Is, steering India to a 2-1 series win. Across six ODIs, Mandhana accumulated 270 runs at an average of 45.00 and a strike rate of 91.52. In T20Is, her performances were equally stellar, scoring 193 runs in three matches at an average of 64.33 and a strike rate of 159.50.
According to ICC, Annabel Sutherland, the versatile Australian all-rounder, delivered consistently with both bat and ball as her team remained unbeaten in five ODIs during December. She amassed 269 runs, including two brilliant centuries – 110 against India in Perth and an unbeaten 105 against New Zealand in Wellington. Her contributions with the ball were equally impactful, claiming nine wickets, including a match-winning 4/39 against India in Brisbane. Sutherland’s all-round brilliance earned her the Player of the Series honours for both the India and New Zealand series. She finished the month with an ODI batting average of 67.25 and a strike rate of 113.98, alongside nine wickets at an average of 16.22 and an economy rate of 3.85.
Nonkululeko Mlaba etched her name in the history books with an outstanding performance in South Africa’s historic one-off Test against England in Bloemfontein. Despite South Africa’s loss, Mlaba became the first South African woman to take a ten-wicket haul in Tests, finishing with remarkable figures of 10 wickets at an average of 15.70, according to ICC. In the subsequent three-match ODI series against England, she took two wickets and contributed 20 runs, though South Africa lost the series 1-2. Across December, Mlaba recorded 14 runs and 10 wickets in red-ball cricket and added two ODI wickets at an average of 45.50 with an economy rate of 6.06. (ANI)
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