Media365
NEW DELHI: Star India opener Smriti Mandhana was on Monday named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2024.
The India vice-captain set new career standards in One Day Internationals, scoring a personal best 747 runs in 13 innings throughout the year.
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Mandhana’s tally was the highest among leading run-scorers in Women’s ODIs in 2024, surpassing Laura Wolvaardt (697), Tammy Beaumont (554), and Hayley Matthews (469).
Mandhana, who previously won the award in 2018, had an outstanding year in 2024, piling up the most runs she has ever scored in a calendar year in the 50-over format.
On her wat to 747 runs in the year, Mandhana averaged an excellent 57.86 and had a strike rate of 95.15.
The left-handed opener also scored four ODI centuries in the year, setting a new record in women’s cricket.
After a modest start against Australia in January, Mandhana hit her stride in June against South Africa, smashing back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs in Bengaluru and narrowly missing a third with a 90-run knock in the series finale.
Mandhana’s consistency was on display again in October when she ended a shaky series against New Zealand with a stunning century in Ahmedabad. She capped off the year with an excellent 105 against Australia at the WACA, despite the match ending in a loss for India. In that innings, Mandhana hit 14 fours and one six in her impressive 109-ball century, while the rest of the Indian team managed only seven boundaries combined.
Mandhana ended the year with a strong performance against the West Indies, narrowly missing out on another hundred but still hitting two half-centuries in a series win for India.
