2024-09-17 17:14:21
Dubai: Sri Lanka’s Dunitha Velalage and Harshita Samarawickrama were named ICC Player of the Month for August 2024. Velalage performed brilliantly in the ODI series against India while Harshita impressed on the Ireland tour. Earlier, only once have both male and female players from the same country received the best player of the month award in a month. In June this year, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were named the best players of the month.
Velalage beats Maharaj and Seals
Velalage won the award beating South African spinner Keshav Maharaj and West Indies fast bowler Jaden Seals. Velalage won the Player of the Series award during Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win against India. Apart from scoring unbeaten 67, 39 and two runs, the 21-year-old left-handed batsman also took a total of seven wickets in the series, including five wickets for 27 runs in the third match.
This is the fifth time that Sri Lanka’s men’s cricket has received this award. Earlier, Angelo Matthews (May 2022), Prabath Jayasuriya (July 2022), Wanindu Hasaranga (June 2023) and Kamindu Mendis (March 2024) have won this award.
Harshita did explosive batting
On the other hand, in the race for the women’s award, Harshitha beat the Ireland pair of Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis. On the Ireland tour, Harshitha became only the third Sri Lankan woman cricketer to score a century in ODIs. The 26-year-old left-handed batsman Harshitha scored a total of 151 runs in two T20s at a strike rate of 169.66, including a match-winning innings of 86 not out in 45 balls in the first match. She scored 172 runs in three ODIs in Belfast at a strike rate of 82.69, including an innings of 105 runs in the second match.