Top 5 cricketers of the Week, 19th – 24th June
It was a day of pride for Indians as Mithali Raj did something that no woman cricketer has done before, more importantly, at the Women’s ODI World Cup. Apart from that, we had couple of exciting T20I games between T20 powerhouses South Africa and England. The series was drawn 1-1 and the fans definitely got their money’s worth. Here, we take a look at the top 5 performances of the week.
#1 Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj smashed her 47th ODI fifty, a record in itself, against England at Derby in the second match of the tournament at the Women’s World Cup. More importantly, it was her seventh consecutive ODI half-century, a world record, breaking a 29-year old mark set by LA Reeler.
What is even more impressive is that Raj has scored each of these seven half-centuries outside India. Two of them were unbeaten knocks and the latest one, a 73-ball 71, helped push India to 281 for the loss of just three wickets. England were 246 all out, giving India a comfortable 35-run victory. Smriti Mandhana was the Player of the Match with her whirlwind 72-ball 90, as she added 144 for the opening wicket with PG Raut (86).