Smriti Mandhana named 'Women's Cricketer of the Year'
New Delhi, Dec 31: Talented India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was on Monday adjudged 'Women's Cricketer of the Year' as well as the 'Women's ODI Player of the Year' by the ICC.
Le-handed opener Mandhana won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the 'Women's Cricketer of the Year' for scoring 669 runs in 12 ODIs along with 622 runs in 25 T20 Internationals in 2018. Her ODI runs were scored at an average of 66.90 while strike-rate for T20I was an impressive 130.67.
Mandhana played a crucial role in India's semi-final appearance at the Women's World T20 in the West Indies, where she scored 178 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of 125.35.
She is currently ranked fourth in the ODI rankings and 10th in the rankings for T20Is, the ICC said in a statement. Mandhana became only the second Indian woman player to win an ICC award aer fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who was named the ICC Player of the Year in 2007. Reacting to the news, a delighted Mandhana said: "...when you get acknowledged for your performances through these awards, it motivates you to work harder and do well for your team.
"The century I scored in South Africa (in Kimberley) was quite satisfying and then I had good home series against Australia and England. A lot of people used to say I do not score that much in India, so I had a point to prove to myself," she added. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated Mandhana, saying: "Smriti enthralled fans with some wonderful performances in what was a memorable year for women's cricket, with the ICC Women's World T20 helping build on the momentum of last year's World Cup."
Australia's opening batter and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, who came up with some superb performances and finished with 225 runs in six matches at the Women's World T20 in the West Indies, has been named the ICC Women's T20I Player of the Year.
"Winning the ICC Women's World T20 final against England is something pretty special, especially after a disappointing couple of years in World Cups. That win against them, a dominant performance, was pretty special and one I will never forget," she said.
"When I first started playing for Australia I never thought that I would achieve anything like this. It's a huge honour and one that I will not take lightly," the batswoman said.
England's 19-year-old le-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been voted the Emerging Player of the Year aer grabbing 18 wickets in nine ODIs and 17 in 14 T20Is during the calendar year. "It was my first full year as an England player aer finishing my education so it's amazing to get an award like this," Ecclestone said.
"We learned a lot in India at the beginning of the year and we took that into our summer against New Zealand and South Africa. We've never said we're the perfect team but we'll keep working hard to get better and that's the same for me," Ecclestone said.
Courtesy: www.deccanherald.com
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
