Her story begins not on a cricket field, but in a dustbin outside an orphanage in Pune, India. Abandoned as a newborn, she was given the name Laila by the staff at the Srivastava Orphanage. It was a start in life that offered little hope.
But destiny had other plans.
An American couple, Haren and Sue, traveled to India with the intention of adopting a boy. However, when Sue saw Laila's bright brown eyes, something shifted. The three-month-old girl captured her heart, and the couple's plans changed instantly. Laila was adopted, renamed Lisa, and her life took a dramatic turn across continents, first to the United States and finally to Sydney, Australia.
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It was in a Sydney park that Lisa's future began to take shape. Her father introduced her to cricket, a game she took to with natural ease. Playing with the local boys, she quickly stood out. She wasn't just good but was a prodigy, equally skilled with both bat and ball. And through it all, she never let her studies slip, building a foundation of discipline that would fuel her career.
Her talent soon found a formal stage. She debuted for New South Wales in 1997, and just four years later, she represented Australia in her first One Day International. Her career was a masterclass in all-round excellence:
Test Cricket: 416 runs and 23 wickets in 8 matches.
ODIs: 2,728 runs and 146 wickets in 125 matches.
T20Is: 769 runs and 60 wickets in 54 matches.
Lisa Sthalekar didn't just play the game, she redefined it. She became the first woman in history to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs. When the ICC introduced its official rankings, she was crowned the world's number one all-rounder.
Her crowning moment came in 2013, when she led Australia to victory in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. In a move that stunned the sporting world, she announced her retirement from international cricket the very next day, leaving at the absolute peak of her powers.
Her legendary status was cemented with the highest honour the sport can bestow, induction into the ICC Hall of Fame.
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