Indian cricket fraternity reacts as Smriti Mandhana bags ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award

Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian to claim the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year twice.

Smriti Mandhana | GettyIndia batter Smriti Mandhana on Monday (January 24) won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women's Cricketer of 2021.

This is the second time Mandhana has bagged the top award, having received the honour in 2018 as well. In 2018, she had also earned the Women's ODI cricketer of the year award.

The stylish opener is only the second Indian to win the annual ICC award after Jhulan Goswami, and the first Indian to claim it twice.

Indian cricket fraternity was pretty delighted with Smriti Mandhana’s achievement and took to Twitter to congratulate her.

Here are the reactions:

Mandhana performed brilliantly throughout the last year for the Indian women’s cricket team. She played a key role in India’s only two wins out of eight matches against South Africa at home. The star batter made 80 not out as India chased down 158 in the second ODI and scored 48 not out in the win in the final T20I.

Mandhana also proved his mettle in the longest format, playing a sublime knock of 78 in the first innings of the one-off Test against England that ended in a draw. She played an important knock of 49 in India's only win in the ODI series. Her 15-ball 29 and fifty in the T20I series went in vain as India fell short in both the matches and lost the series 2-1.

Smriti Mandhana carried her stunning form on the tour of Australia as well. She scored 86 in the second ODI and hit a glorious century in the only Test and was awarded the Player of the Match. She scored her second T20I fifty of the year in the final T20I, though India fell short and lost the series 2-0.

(With ICC inputs)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 25 Jan, 2022

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