Star Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues was on Monday nominated for the ICC ‘Player of the Month’ award for her impressive performance at the Commonwealth Games in August.
The nominations in the women’s category also feature the gold medal-winning Australian duo of Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath.
Rodrigues was one of the pillars of the Indian team that went all the way into the finals of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She ended the tournament fifth on the run-scorers list with 146 runs in five matches.
Rodrigues was India’s top run-getter with an unbeaten 56 off 46 balls in the crucial clash against Barbados to help her side secure a semifinal spot.
Mooney, on the other hand, was the highest run-scorer at the Birmingham CWG. She kicked off the month with a brilliant unbeaten 49-ball 70 against Pakistan in Australia’s final Group A game, following it up with a patient 29-ball 36 in the semifinal clash against New Zealand, batting her side out of trouble after the early wickets.
McGrath impressed with her all-round brilliance. She was one of the key factors in Australia making history and bagging the gold medal in the first-ever women’s tournament in the event’s history.
She finished the tournament as the joint second-highest wicket-taker with eight wickets in five matches.
England Test skipper Ben Stokes, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe and New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner are the nominees in the men’s category.
In the second Test against Proteas at Manchester, Stokes broke the back of the South African middle-order with the wickets of Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen as the visitors were knocked over for 151.
He followed it up with a brilliant century that came when England were in a spot of bother having lost early wickets on day two.
Raza enjoyed a tremendous August. Going head to head against Asian giants India and Bangladesh, Raza notched up three centuries in the month.
Santner too enjoyed a brilliant month both with the bat and ball in hand and played a crucial role in the Black Caps’ six wins out of eight in the month.
