MUMBAI: At a time when the country's cricket fans have been left hurting by the Indian men's team's poor show on the recently-concluded South African tour, here's a piece of good to lift their spirits: In another feather in her cap, opening bat Smriti Mandhana on Monday won the 'Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award' for the ICC's Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2021.
This is the second time that Mandhana, who won this award in 2018 as well, has bagged the prestigious honour. Widely tipped to be the next captain of the Indian women's team post Mithali Raj's retirement, Mandhana's stock continued to rise in 2021, scored 855 runs in 22 internationals at an average of 38. 86 with one century and five half-centuries.
