ACES Awards

Not many make their international debut at the age of 16 and not many continue when they are 38! Mithali has been the torchbearer of Indian women's cricket for more than two decades and, undoubtedly, its greatest player. In her long and illustrious career, she has enjoyed tremendous success in all formats of the game.
In 2020, she made it to the ICC ODI Team of the Decade, a fitting honour for her consistency and longevity.
She is the only woman to score more than 6,000 ODI runs in a career and she is also the only player to make more than 200 appearances for her country (209 matches, 6,888 runs). When Mithali led India to the ODI World Cup final in 2017, she became the only skipper – male or female – to have taken the side to two World Cup summit clashes (she had also captained the team in the 2005 World Cup final). At 38, Mithali is hungry as ever.
Mithali Raj facts
2014: Led India to a Test win against England in Wormsley and also guided the team to a Test win against South Africa in Mysuru
2015: Received the Padma Shri Award
2016: Captained India in the 2016 World T20
2017: Led India to the ODI World Cup final and in the process, surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards to become the highest run-scorer in ODIs and the first woman to 6000 runs in the format. Her 409-run tally in the tournament was second only to England opener Tammy Beaumont's.
She is the only Indian captain - male or female - to have led the side to two 50-over World Cup finals - 2005 and 2017 - the only major distinction that eludes the incumbent ODI captain is the tag of a World Cup winner.
2018: Became the highest run scorer for India on November 11in T20 cricket, surpassing Rohit Sharma. She retired from the format in 2019, with 2364 runs. Also received the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World Award.
2019: Became the first woman to complete two decades in ODI cricket.
2020: Made it to the ICC's ODI Team of the Decade.
TESTS
Matches: 2, Runs: 91, Highest: 50*, Strike Rate: 40.26, 50s: 1
ODIs
Matches: 89, Runs: 3052, Highest: 125*, Average: 51.72, 100s: 5, 50s: 21.
T20Is (till 2019)
Matches: 76, Runs: 1989, Highest: 97*, Average: 36.38, 50s: 15

Jhulan, only eight days older than Mithali, has served the country with distinction as a bowler, skipper and even nightwatchman (she made a fifty against England at Leicester in 2006).
A fast bowler with a bustling run-up and a big heart, Jhulan has been India's biggest weapon since 2002 when she made her debut. She and Mithali are a treasure trove of knowledge, sharing experience and expertise with the younger lot.
Jhulan, the only bowler to scalp more than 200 ODI wickets (225 in 182 games), was named in ICC's ODI Team of the Decade in 2020.
The 2010 Arjuna and 2012 Padma Shri winner continues to run in with verve and enthusiasm, as her exploits for Trailblazers in the 2020 Women's T20 Challenge in Sharjah showed.
Jhulan Goswami facts
2012: Became the second Indian women cricketer to receive the Padma Shri after Diana Edulji. She received the Arjuna Award in 2010.
2014: She scalped a four-for against England, helping India win the one-off Test against England.
2015: She was one of four senior players who were handed the highest grade of central contracts by the BCCI for the first time.
2016: She featured in the World T20 for India.
#Was the player of the match in the final as India beat Pakistan to clinch the Asia Cup.
2017: Became the highest wicket-taker in the history of ODIs, eclipsing the decade-long record of Australian Cathryn Fitzpatrick. She still is the highest wicket-taker in the ODI format with 225 scalps.
# Scalped 10 wickets as India reached the final of the Women’s ODI World Cup in England.
2018: She quit T20Is, but continued to play in ODIs.
2020: Made it to the ICC ODI Team of the Decade.
TESTS
Matches: 2, Runs: 20, Highest: 17, SR: 22.22, Wickets: 7, Best: 5-68, Economy: 2.11, SR 50.5.
ODIs
Matches: 77, Wickets: 105 (Highest), Economy: 3.50, Average: 36.4, Best: 6-31, 5-fors: 1, 4-fors: 3.
T20Is (till 2018)
Matches: 57, Wickets: 53, Economy: 5.42, Best: 5-11, 5-fors: 1.

Just 24, Smriti is already a superstar in Indian women's cricket. A vital link in the batting chain, the opener has made a huge impact with her style and substance. She is even referred to as Lady Ganguly for her grace and timing. Smriti announced her arrival on the big stage in style, smashing a double hundred for Maharashtra against Gujarat in a West Zone women's under-19 one-day game in 2013. At ease in all three formats, Smriti has gone to score 3,822 runs since donning the India cap in 2013. When the 2019 Arjuna Award winner led Trailblazers to a remarkable maiden triumph in the 2020 Women's T20 Challenge in Sharjah, her leadership qualities came to the fore. Her match-winning skills found suitors in the Big Bash League and Women's Super League in England, and she vindicated their decision by piling up runs at a frenetic pace.
Smriti Mandhana facts
2013: Made her presence felt with a double century for Maharashtra against Gujarat in a West Zone women's under-19 one-day fixture.
Broke into the Indian ODI and T20I sides against Bangladesh.
2014: Scored a half-century on her Test debut against England in 2014, which paved the way for India’s historic win.
2016: Scored her first ODI century against Australia in Hobart. She amassed 157 runs in the three-match ODI series.
# After the tour of Australia, she featured in the World T20. Later in the year, made it to the Women’s Big Bash League, featuring for Brisbane Heat.
# Made it to the ICC Women’s Team of the Year
2017: Scored a century against the West Indies in the World Cup in England, which eventually helped India reach the final of the tournament.
2018: Played in the Kia Super League for Western Storm. Amassed 689 runs – with four half-centuries and a ton.
# Was named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.
# Featured in the Women’s Big Bash League for Hobart Hurricanes.
2019: Conferred the Arjuna Award.
# Became the third fastest woman to score 2,000 runs in ODI cricket when she hit a match-winning fifty against West Indies.
2020: Was the vice-captain of the Indian team which reached the final of T20 World Cup in Australia.
# In her captaincy, Trailblazers won the Women's T20 Challenge in Sharjah.
TESTS
Matches: 2, Runs: 81, Highest: 51, Strike Rate: 43.54, 50s: 1
ODIs
Matches: 51, Runs: 2025, Highest: 135, Strike Rate: 84.41, 100s: 4, 50s: 17
T20Is
Matches: 75, Runs: 1716, Highest: 86, Strike Rate: 119.41, 50s: 12

With more than 200 caps, the 30-year-old goalkeeper is the second senior-most member after Rani Rampal in the Indian women’s hockey team in terms of experience.
She has been involved in almost every major success that the team enjoyed in the last decade – denying Japan in the Olympic qualifier and helping help India qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, winning the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy, bronze at the 2014 Asian Games and silver in 2018, bronze in the 2013 Asia Cup and gold in 2017 which took the team to the 2018 World Cup. Incidentally, Savita was chosen the Best Goalkeeper of the 2017 Asia Cup. 
Savita won the Arjuna Award in 2018 – only the third woman goalkeeper to be conferred the distinction, and the first in 14 years – and was included in Forbes India’s 30-under-30 list the same year. 

She's just 26, but Rani has achieved more than most. She was only 15 when she took the field at the 2010 World Cup and has been part of every Indian team since, winning a record 241 caps so far. In her maiden tournament, she went on to bag the Best Young Player award and emerged its top scorer. Rani was also named in the FIH All-Stars team for 2010.
She was the Player of the tournament at the Junior World Cup in 2013, leading India to its maiden medal in the competition (bronze). Rani scored the lone goal in the Olympic Qualifier 2015 and the crucial winner for India against the USA in the Olympic Qualifier in 2019. She was also chosen as the World Games Athlete of the Year in 2019.
Rani was awarded the Arjuna in 2016 and Padma Shri in 2020, and became the first woman hockey player – and only the third from the sport – to get the Khel Ratna later that year.

Bala Devi made history in 2020 by becoming the first Indian women’s footballer to sign a professional contract with a foreign club when she joined Scottish Women’s Premier League side Rangers on an 18-month contract.
She is currently the all-time leading scorer in the Indian Women's League. She bagged 12 goals in the 2017-18 season in KRYPHSA’s semifinal run, before netting a stunning 26 goals to steer Manipur Police to a runner-up finish the following year.
A former captain of the national team, Bala Devi is the current top-scorer for the Indian eves – scoring 52 times in 58 games since 2010. She is also the top international goal-scorer in the South Asian region.
She has tasted plenty of success in national colours, winning the SAFF Women’s Championship thrice (2010, 2014, 2016) and clinching gold at the South Asian Games thrice (2010, 2016, 2019). Bala has also been named the All India Football Federation Women’s Player of the Year twice, in 2015 and 2016.

Reigning world champion and Olympic finalist P. V. Sindhu has more achievements to show than any other Indian shuttler in the past decade. Part of the creamy layer of world badminton, the lanky girl from Hyderabad has considerably and consistently raised the bar set by Saina Nehwal.
Holder of five World Championships medals – a gold, two silver and two bronze – and a silver medals from the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, South Asian Games and the National Championships, Sindhu is a top contender at big-ticket events.
Before the world title, Sindhu’s biggest success came in the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals, where she felled defending champion Akane Yamaguchi, top seed Tai Tzu-ying and two former world champions, Ratchanok Intanon and Nozomi Okuhara. Add three BWF Superseries titles and six Grand Prix crowns, and Sindhu stands out as the best performer of the decade.

As comebacks go, she has scripted the mother of all comebacks in Indian sports. Sania, who gave birth to son Izhaan in October 2018, decided to give tennis a shot again. And what a shot it turned out to be! She duly won her 42nd WTA doubles title at the Hobart International in January 2020 in the company of Nadiia Kichenok. Proud and eager to represent the country, she decided to spearhead India's Fed Cup challenge. She registered three crucial doubles wins and, along with Ankita Raina, piloted the team to Fed Cup finals, a first in India's history. Her doubles title wins this decade include three women’s trophies, three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and two WTA Tour Finals crowns. At the 2016 Rio Games, she and partner Rohan Bopanna progressed to the semifinals before bowing out. An inspiration to the younger generation, Sania's impact on Indian tennis is not just about the crowns she has won, but also about the belief and confidence she has shown on the world stage.

The torch-bearer of Indian badminton for the better part of the last 14 years, Saina is the only Indian woman to be ranked world No. 1.
Having shown the way to win on the world stage, she won the biggest prize of her career at the 2012 London Olympics – a bronze medal.
Her triumph at the 2012 Indonesian Open would rank among her best. She put  the finishing touches to a gritty run by beating the year’s most dominant player China’s Li Xuerui (the eventual Olympic champion) in the final. She also clinched a bronze at the 2017 World Championships. 
Though Sindhu has taken over the mantle from Saina, the latter continues to hold sway over her younger rival. When it comes to sheer persistence and determination, Saina is second to none. Her never-say-die attitude has kept her going on the international stage for more than 15 years.

'Magnificent' Mary is the icon of Indian women's boxing. She is the most decorated boxer in World Championships history with eight medals (six gold, one silver and one bronze). Her phenomenal journey at the Worlds began with a second-place finish in 2001 before she jumped a step up in 2002. She remained there in 2005. '06, '08, '10 & '18 before slipping to third in 2019 in Ulan-Ude, Mongolia. The crowning glory of her career came at the London 2012 Games when she won a bronze in the 51kg class. Her trophy cabinet also contains a bronze (2010) and gold (2014) from the Asian Games, three Asian Championships trophies (2010, 2012 and 2017) and a gold from the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The milestone lady is the first Indian woman to reach the top at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

The weightlifter shot into the limelight at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games when she won a silver in the women's 48kg category with a lift of 170kg. After a forgettable trip to Rio in 2016, Mirabai bounced back to clinch the world title in Anaheim, USA, in 2017, lifting 194kg. At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she improved it to 196kg – a national record – en route to the gold. She is the first Indian to bag a world title after the World Anti-Doping Agency came into existence. Mirabai, who was out for nearly a year due to a lower-back injury, showed her mettle by rewriting her own National mark with a lift of 201kg in the revamped 49kg in 2019. She bettered it to 203kg at the national championships in Kolkata in 2020.

Sakshi showed promise and hunger at a young age when she clinched the Asian junior gold medal and a world junior bronze. From silver at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, she defied form and prediction to climb the podium at the Rio Games two years later. Her bronze was worth its weight in gold as she earned the distinction of being the first Indian woman wrestler to wrap a medal around her neck at the quadrennial extravaganza. Sakshi went on to win another bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

If consistency is a yardstick for measuring a team’s success, few can match Mumbai Indians. After all, the Indian Premier League franchise won seven titles in the 14 tournaments it participated in in the last decade, two of which came at the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 (2011 and ’13). But the highlight of the team’s success is its five IPL titles in an eight-year period. Beginning with 2013, when Rohit Sharma took over as captain midway through the season, MI won the title every alternate year till the end of the decade, when it broke the sequence with its dominant victory in the 2020 edition. In addition, MI has contributed in terms of shaping Indian talent, including the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

The Patna Pirates franchise has been the most successful in the brief history of the Pro Kabaddi League, its three titles coming in successive seasons between 2016 and 2017, after making the semifinals the previous two years. In seven seasons, the franchise has recorded the second-most wins (70) and has a win percentage of 52.23 from 134 matches.

Ever since Bengaluru FC came into being in 2013, it has been Indian football’s leading light. With two I-League titles, two Federation Cups, one ISL crown and one Indian Super Cup, it is the most successful Indian football club of the last decade. The side’s run to the AFC Cup final in 2016 remains the best performance by an Indian club on the continental stage in the recent past. It has also set high standards off the field, be it in the kind of professionalism it has instilled in its footballers or the manner in which it has provided its coaches with time and room to build winning units. Last July, the club’s grassroots development initiative was conferred a two-star academy status by the Asian Football Confederation, making it the only professional club in India to gain the recognition.