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Smriti Mandhana Ton, SMAT QFs And Brook’s Ascension – December 11 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Smriti Mandhana and Harry Brook [Source: @BCCIWomen, @mufaddal_vohra/x]Smriti Mandhana and Harry Brook [Source: @BCCIWomen, @mufaddal_vohra/x]

Australia Women steamrolled a Smriti Mandhana-inspired Indian team in Perth to seal their three-match series by a 3-0 margin. England’s ‘BazBall’ radical Harry Brook attained new heights on the ICC Test rankings while the apex body also announced the ‘Player of the Month’ winners for November.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest news that emerged out of Wednesday, December 11.

Sutherland Renders Smriti Mandhana Ton In Vain As AUS Sweep IND 3-0

Australia Women completed a 3-0 series sweep over India by winning the third ODI with an 83-run margin. Annabel Sutherland tonked her career-best score of 110 from 95 balls to fuel the Australian total towards 298-6. Ashleigh Gardner and interim captain Tahlia McGrath also sparked rapid half-centuries after Arundhati Reddy’s inspiring four-wicket haul at the top.

In response, Smriti Mandhana carved her ninth ODI ton with 105 from 109 balls, but a lower-order collapse triggered by Ashleigh Gardner’s five-wicket haul restricted the ‘Women in Blue’ to just 215.

Mumbai, Delhi Among Others Qualify For SMAT 2024 Semis

Mumbai, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Baroda qualified for the semifinals of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after winning their respective quarterfinal bouts on December 11. In the first quarterfinal, a Hardik Pandya-inspired Baroda pummelled Bengal by 41 runs in Bengaluru.

In the second knockout fixture, Anuj Rawat clobbered 73 unbeaten runs from 33 balls as Delhi mounted a match-winning total of 193-3 against Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh pulled off a 174-run heist against Saurashtra courtesy of Venkatesh Iyer’s all-round brilliance (38* off 33 and 2-23). In Alur, Ajinkya Rahane hauled 84 runs from 45 balls for Mumbai in a successful 222-run chase against Vidarbha.

Harry Brook Takes Top Spot In ICC Test Rankings

England’s batting dynamite Harry Brook toppled senior teammate Joe Root to take the top spot on the ICC rankings for batsmen in Tests. The 25-year-old surpassed Root’s 897 rating points following his twin match-winning tons against New Zealand in Christchurch and Wellington. Brook also mounted his career-best Test score of 317 against Pakistan in Multan a couple of months ago.

One of the pioneers of England’s unorthodox ‘BazBall’ approach under Ben Stokes, the attacking right-handed batter has tallied 2,280 runs in 38 Test innings at a prolific average of 61.62. Moreover, his strike rate currently stands at an astonishing 88.57.

Among the Indians, Yashasvi Jaiswal retained his fourth spot on the ICC rankings while Rishabh Pant lost three rungs to slip to number nine. Storming into the top five from number 11 position, Travis Head made the biggest leap on the table following his thunderous 140 against India in Adelaide.

Haris Rauf, Danni Wyatt-Hodge Win Player Of The Month

Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf pipped Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah and South African speed demon Marco Jansen to win the ‘Player of the Month’ award for the month of November 2024. Rauf snapped 10 wickets in just three innings against Australia during the aforementioned period to headline Pakistan’s first ODI series win ‘Down Under’ in over two decades. Overall, the cricketer collected 18 wickets in the month, including five additional scalps in the Australian T20Is and three against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge, meanwhile, won the ‘Player of the Month’ in women’s category for notching up successive match-winning T20I half-centuries against South Africa Women.

Zimbabwe Win Last-Ball Thriller Over Afghanistan

Zimbabwe edged out the visiting Afghanistan team by four wickets in a last-ball thriller at Harare. Chasing 145 for a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett made 49 at run-a-ball and number three Dion Myers chipped in with a cunning 32 following the early dismissal of Tadiwanashe Marumani.

Unbeaten Tashinga Musekiwa overcame a potential middle-order collapse by notching up the winning runs off the final ball of the match. Zimbabwean speedster Richard Ngarava also hogged the limelight, albeit with the ball by snagging three key Afghanistan wickets in his four overs.