CricTracker Fan Poll: Best international cricketers of March 2017

The month of March 2017 saw the serious action of cricket unfold across all the three formats of the game. Almost all major teams were in international action and the performances put forth by the players were exceptional. The fact that the 2017 edition of the IPL will be following the month made the fans stay glued to their screens to watch how the big names fare up. The excitement was huge and so were the performances. The month witnessed serious and cracking cricketing action in – India v Australia, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Afghanistan v Ireland, West Indies v Pakistan, New Zealand v South Africa and West Indies v England as well. With such plethora of cricket action on display, it was tough for the players to stay consistent on the performance radar. However, there was a few gentleman who managed to rule the roost during the month of March 2017. The 5 players who featured in the CricTracker fan poll of best international cricketers of March were as follows: 5. Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) – 12% votes Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal raises his bat in celebration after scoring a century (100 runs). (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal was in supreme touch this season. When the Bangladesh side toured Sri Lanka for a full tour, very few had given them a sniff in the Tests and ODI series. However, they managed to stun the hosts with series-levelling results in both ODIs and Test series. One man who was the key to their success this season was veteran batsman Tamim Iqbal. In the 5 innings that he played in the past month, he aggregated 334 runs. He struck a guiding 82 in the second innings of the 2nd Test at Colombo that set the tone for the series-levelling Test win for Bangladesh in their 100th Test. In the ODI series, he smashed a brilliant 127 in the first ODI to help his side win the match with ease. Also, en route his majestic ton, he became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 10000 international runs. 4. Steve Smith (Australia) – 15% votes Steve Smith. (Photo Source: BCCI) With 499 runs in the series against India, Steve Smith finished as the leading run-scorer of the 4-match Test series. The number one ranked Test batsman totally justified his numero uno position by smashing three tons in the series where the bowlers ruled the proceedings for a major part. He struck a match-winning 109 in the first Test at Pune, on a track where the Indian team failed to cross the 110-run mark in either of their two innings. In the third Test at Ranchi, he went a shade better by scoring a magnificent unbeaten 178. In the final Test at Dharamsala, he scored yet another ton and was the standout performer for his side. In the 6 innings he played in March, he amassed 363 runs and received 15 percent of votes in the CricTracker Fan Poll. 3. Ravindra Jadeja (India) – 15% votes Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ravindra Jadeja rose to the top spot in the ICC Test bowlers rankings riding on his stellar show in the home Test season this year. He emerged as the second leading wicket taker for India in the 13 Tests the Indian side played this season. In the last Test series of the marathon season against Australia, Jadeja finished as the leading wicket taker with 25 wickets to his name. Needless to say, he was the most prolific player for his side. In addition to his bowling heroics, he made news with the bat too. With two fifties to his name in the series, he ensured that he stays the all-rounder that the team has always looked out for. In the 6 innings he played in March, he scalped 20 wickets and scored 122 runs as well. He received 15 percent of votes – as many as the Australian skipper Steve Smith received in the CricTracker Fan Poll. 2. Cheteshwar Pujara (India) – 20% votes Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo Source: BCCI) Cheteshwar Pujara in undoubtedly the best Test batsman of the Indian team at the moment. The Saurashtra lad scored runs at will in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The pitches were not favourable, the bowlers were hostile – yet the steady head of Pujara overcame all as he finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the series. With 368 runs in the 5 innings that he played in March, Pujara managed to reestablish himself as the batting mainstay of the Indian Test line-up. It comes only as a matter of utter disgrace that the Rajkot boy will be out of action for the next two months since he has not been picked in the IPL this year. Talking about his performances, he struck a gritty 92 in the Bengaluru Test to see India win the match. Later, he went miles ahead by becoming the batsman to have played most number of balls in a Test innings when he faced 525 deliveries for his double ton at Ranchi. He finished off the series with a half century at Dharamsala as well. 1. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – 38% votes Rashid Khan was awarded the man of the series for his 9 wickets. (Photo Source: Twitter) And the winner of the CricTracker Fan Poll for the Best international player in March 2017 is Afghanistan leggie, Rashid Khan. Rashid has been a massive performer for the Afghan side and his most recent exploits have only done a world of good to his ever-increasing stature in international cricket. In the month under consideration, Rashid scalped 25 wickets in 8 innings. Afghanistan hosted Ireland in their adopted home Noida for a 5-match ODI series and 3 T20Is. One man who ruled the roost was Rashid Khan. He already had a lot of eyes on him after having been picked in the Indian Premier League by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping sum. He bagged miraculous figures of 5/3 in the second T20I against Ireland. He then followed it up with a three-wicket haul in the final T20I. In the ODI series, he returned with figures of 4/48 in the series opener. A performance that was an inch better saw him scalp 6/43 in the next match. Rashid Khan bagged 38 percent of votes that saw him win the poll by a country mile with the near 2nd Pujara trailing him by 18% votes. Here is the Facebook poll:

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CricTracker Fan Poll: Best international cricketers of March 2017

Two Indian cricketers made it to the list of top 5 performers.

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