Along with the men’s award, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the three names for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month. So many excellent players showed their remarkable performances throughout the last month.
In the most exciting tournament, the Chamari Athapaththu-led Sri Lankan side added their first Asia Cup trophy as they got the better of the Indian team in the final of the tournament at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.
The Unbeaten Indian team, under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur, didn’t put up a great show with the bat in the first innings, while their second innings with the ball wasn’t up to the mark at all.
Indian openers get chances in ICC nominees for Women’s Player of July 2024
The Sri Lankan captain and their opening batter, Chamari Athapaththu, added another feather to her crown in the last 12 months, which had already set so many milestones, including the first-ever T20I series wins over England and South Africa, while they secured their qualification for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The 34-year-old was the highest run-getter of this recent edition of the Asia Cup, as she smashed 304 runs in five innings, at an average of 101.33 and a strike rate of nearly 150, celebrating a couple of half-centuries and one century, with a best score of unbeaten 119 runs.
In the final of the competition, the veteran showed his caliber with a 61-run knock in 43 balls, which was decorated with nine boundaries and a couple of sixes, at a strike rate of over 140, as she put up a match-winning stand of 87 runs for the second wicket with Harshita Samarawickrama.
“I‘m feeling happy, I’m happy about my team’s performance, especially the batting. Special thanks to Harshita and Dilhari for their performance. It’s not a one-man show, the coaching staff has been great, and finally, we have won the Asia Cup.” The Sri Lankan captain said at the end of the game.
A two-time winner of the ICC Women’s Player of the Month, Athapaththu gets near to his third award.
The first Indian opener to get the nominee is the left-hander batter Smriti Mandhana, who could win the ICC award for back-to-back months. She continued the prolific form in July, notching up a 149-run knock against South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
She was also the third-highest run-getter of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, with 173 runs in four innings, at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 137.30, with the help of two fifties, at a best score of 60 runs. She was India’s top run-scorer in the final with 60 runs in 47 deliveries, shouldering on ten boundaries at a strike rate of nearly 130.
Her opening partner, Shefali Verma, is the third nominee for the ICC Women’s Player Award for July 2024. The right-hander smashed 229 runs in the red-ball format and 245 runs in the shortest format during this period.
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Thanks to her standout opening stand, he became just the second Indian after Mithali Raj to register the fastest double century in Women’s Test. During their Asia Cup 2024, the opening batter was the second-highest run-getter, with 200 runs in five innings, at an average of 50, and a strike rate of 140.84, with one fifty at a best score of 81.
Her knock of 40 runs in 29 balls set the chase against the arch-rivals Pakistan, as he looked in supreme touch for the event, and will continue to stretch her form in the future.