The Women’s World Cup is happily chugging along as women cricketers from around the keep on inspiring us with the outstanding levels of commitment and skills. And we now have our four semi-finalists – India thumping New Zealand against the odds to take the fourth slot after Australia, England and South Africa already made it.
In the men’s game, the Proteas have their own talisman back in the form of Faf du Plessis and they look like a different side, putting England under pressure. Away teams are having it great as Zimbabwe might surprise and embarrass Sri Lanka further, with a sizeable lead in the third innings of the only Test between the two teams at the time of writing this piece.
With so much competition, it was tough to pick just five cricketers, but we simply couldn’t leave out two brilliant women from India who gave New Zealand a might hiding.
#1 Mithali Raj
She is making headlines for all the right reasons, be it her brilliant retorts in the press conferences or with a photo of hers reading Rumi all geared up to bat going popular on the internet. She is scoring runs at will, crossing 6000 ODI runs, the first woman player to do so.
Raj topped off the effort to help India break a losing streak and beat New Zealand in a virtual quarter-final taking India to the semi-final of the World Cup. Batting first, India were in a spot of bother at 21 for 2. The skipper, however, played a ‘captain’s knock’ scoring 109, adding 123 with Harmanpreet Kaur who scored a 90-ball 60.
She then went on to add 108 off just 13 overs for the fifth wicket with Veda Krishnamurthy. Mithali scored her sixth century and fell in the final over. India eventually were able to manage 265 in their 50 overs and then went on to steamroll New Zealand, who were all out for 79 to give India an 186-run victory!
#2 Veda Krishnamurthy
At Derby, in India’s last league match, Veda turned a fighting total into a match-winning one with a blistering knock. She walked in after India had lost two quick wickets, at 154 for 4 in the 37th over and then went on to score 70 in just 45-balls with seven fours and two sixes, after scoring just 11 in her first 16 balls.
Her clean hitting was best seen in the 47th over when she smashed Bates for a six and two fours to get to her half-century – off just 33 balls. Veda was dismissed in the final over but not before ensuring that India posted a sizeable 265. It was an excellent score on a track where the Indian spinner, Rajeshwari Gayakwad picked up figures of 5/15 in just 7.3 overs.
#3 Vernon Philander
After a disappointing first Test, South Africa seemed all set to put up a fight under their regular skipper, Faf du Plessis, who was back in action for the second. However, they lost their way with quick wickets, going from 179 for 2 batting first at Trent Bridge to 235 for 6 before Vernon Philander added 74 for the seventh wicket along with Chris Morris, who scored a gritty 36.
Philander scored 54 in 81 balls in an innings garlanded by nine fours – ensuring South Africa have a decent tally on the board. Surviving James Anderson’s onslaught wasn’t easy especially with the new ball but Philander stuck to his job. His importance was obvious when South Africa lost their last four wickets for just 26 runs once he lost his wicket.
The 32-year-old sparkled with the ball as well, picking up the big wicket of Alastair Cook in the fourth over and then breaking an 83-run partnership for the third wicket by picking up Gary Ballance. England were eventually all out for just 205, thanks to three-wicket hauls for Keshav Maharaj (3/21) and Chris Morris (3/38).
#4 Craig Ervine
In the only Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, at the Premadasa Stadium, Ervine did amazingly well for an away batsman. Walking in at number four, Ervine scored an impressive 160, an innings that formed the bedrock of a good score for the visitors.
Zimbabwe managed 356 batting first after Ervine took them from 38 for 3 and 70 for 4 to safety, adding 84 with Sikandar Raza and then 65 for the seventh wicket with Malcolm Waller before impressing again with a 74-run stand with Donald Tiripano.
In reply, Sri Lanka started solidly but lost their way to give Zimbabwe a 10-run lead. Zimbabwe then were tottering at 23 for 4 and 59 for 5, before Sikandar Raza added 86 for the sixth wicket with Peter Moor and an unbeaten 107 with Waller at the time of writing to give the Africans a healthy 262-run lead.
#5 James Anderson
James Anderson showed yet again why he is probably the world’s best fast bowler in Tests going around, especially with Dale Steyn currently out of action. Anderson picked up yet another five-wicket haul to add to his previous 21.
The pacer has 470 wickets in 123 Tests and became the first fast bowler to pick up 300 wickets at home, the previous three being spinners – Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. The 34-year-old picked up the wicket of Dean Elgar early before bowling a devastating spell with the second new ball, where he accounted for the wickets of Philander, Morris, Maharaj and Morkel to snub the resistance of the tail, within a span of six overs and 26 runs.
The Englishman eventualy returned figures of 5/72 in 23.2 overs.
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