Left-arm spinner Nahida Akter scripted a history by becoming the first Bangladesh woman cricketer to win the ICC 'Player of the Month' award for her brilliant performance in November.
She beat compatriot Fargana Hoque and Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal to achieve the accolade.
"This is a moment to cherish," a highly elated Nahid described her reaction
after winning the award.
"To be recognised by such a distinguished panel of cricket experts means a
lot and winning the ICC Women Player of the Month award will be a massive
source of inspiration and motivation for me."
Nahida Akter achieved the Player of the Month crown after tearing through
opposition batters in her side's closely fought victory over Pakistan in
Mirpur last month.
BSS adds: The first ODI encounter of the series saw Akter claim three wickets for 30 with a consistent spell of pressure bowling. With Pakistan chasing down a
lowly 82 for victory, the spinner kept the contest competitive, claiming the
wickets of Sidra Ameen, Bismah Maroof and Aliya Riaz to trouble the tourists
in their charge to victory.
A quieter second match followed before she once more starred in the decisive
third fixture. A superb economical 10-over spell produced three wickets for
26 runs as the tourists stumbled to 166 for nine in their 50 overs, laying
the foundations for Akter's teammates to seal the series with the bat in a
seven-wicket victory.
Nahida claimed the Player of the Series accolade after having taken seven
wickets at an impressive average of 14.14 across the three matches.
"We have played some amazing cricket in recent months and I am so happy to
have contributed to the successes we have tasted as a team. I must thank my
captain, coaches and teammates for always believing in me and that has
allowed me to play my natural game against quality opponents and perform
under pressure," she added.
The 23-year-old is already the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in Women's
T20Is and the third-highest in ODIs.
Meanwhile, Australia opener Travis won the 'Player of the Month' award in
Men's category after his performance in semifinal and final played a key role
in helping Australia win the ICC Cricket World Cup for the record sixth time.
