The Indian fast-bowling veteran and two winners of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 have reached the shortlist for the November 2023 ICC Men's Player of the Month Award. For the sport, the month was momentous as it saw the second part of an amazing 2023 ODI World Cup campaign.
It is not surprising that the finalists of the ICC ODI World Cup, Australia and India, are represented among the nominations for November given the number of players who excelled when it counted most. Throughout the event on the subcontinent, the two countries organized an amazing series of ads.
Both sides had several standout players considering their successful run in the competition, but only Mohammed Shami, Travis Head, and Glenn Maxwell managed to secure a spot in the final three.
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In three ODI matches last month, Glenn Maxwell earned 204 runs at an average of 204 and two wickets at a strike rate of 152.23. During the series against India, he scored 116 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 207.14 in two Twenty20 Internationals.
Maxwell missed Australia's Cricket World Cup match against England at the beginning of the month due to an accident while playing golf, but he made a spectacular comeback against Afghanistan.
With the ball, he got rid of Rahmat Shah, finishing at 1/55. Afghanistan's 291/5 total, however, appeared unattainable following Australia's decline from 43/1 to 91/7. After that, Maxwell assumed control and, despite excruciating cramps, struck an incredible 201 off 128 balls, one of the best performances in ODI history. In the record innings, he smacked ten sixes and twenty-one fours.
His two hundred was the second-quickest double ton in history and the first by an Australian in Men's ODIs. Additionally, it was the first pursuit in which a double century was achieved. Additionally, this was the highest score received by a person ranked No. 6 or lower.
Later, he participated in the Twenty20 International vs India, and with an incredible hundred, he helped Australia win the third Twenty20 International at Guwahati. With eight fours and eight sixes in his 104* from just forty-eight balls. It aided in the pursuit of India's 223.
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After a lengthy injury hiatus, Australia's batting wonder Travis Head returned to the team at the end of October with a magnificent century against New Zealand, and he carried on his excellent form into November.
He scored 220 runs at an astonishing average of 44 in five One-Day Internationals in November, including a half-century and a century. Particularly, his outstanding efforts in the semi-final and final of the Cricket World Cup, when he won Player of the Match honours and was crucial to Australia winning their sixth championship.
He also contributed with the ball in the semi-final, taking two vital wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen to disrupt South Africa's innings rebuild. This helped limit the Proteas to a manageable score, which was overturned in a tight chase, again spearheaded by Head's brilliant 62 from 48.
He hit a magnificent 137 from 120 balls in the final match against India, which helped Australia win by six wickets. At one point, Australia's innings were in the dumps; they were down to 47/3 trying to reach 241. Head, though, maintained his composure and dominated the middle overs. His knock was full of sixteen fours and four sixes.
In the third Twenty20 international of the just-finished five-match series, which India won 4-1, the batsman struck an 18-ball 35 in Australia's five-wicket victory against India in addition to his ODI run.
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November saw Mohammed Shami carry on his incredible World Cup run. At an economy rate of 5.68 and an average of 12.06, he claimed 15 wickets.
With 24 wickets from just seven innings, he emerged as the 2023 Cricket World Cup's top wicket-taker overall.
Among his month-long highlights was a thrilling 5/18 at Wankhede versus Sri Lanka. When Shami arrived after the first Powerplay, Sri Lanka was already struggling in a chase of 358. In his five overs, he went through their middle and lower order.
At Eden Gardens, a disciplined 2/18 contributed to the destruction of South Africa. But the quick bowler showed his mettle against New Zealand in the semi-final.
Shami's new ball effort rattled the Black Caps early on, especially after they had given up 397 in the first innings. But Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell held their ground and continued to pursue the hunt. Shami went on to strike five more times to secure an India victory as other bowlers for the country were unable to provide an answer. His 7/57 total is the highest return for an Indian bowler in One-Day Internationals.
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