Did Annabel Sutherland Just Give Herself the Perfect Birthday Gift Against India?

Annabel Sutherland might have given herself the best birthday present. On her birthday, she bowled a match-winning spell against India in the Women's World Cup. This win also puts Australia at the top of the standings with no losses.

We have seen the batsmen celebrating their birthdays well on the field. Be it Sachin Tendulkar hitting a century off Australia or Ross Taylor hitting a century off Pakistan, the batsmen have been able to find their methods of celebrating their birthdays. However, the bowlers have been able to do this on a few occasions.

on her birthday. During the game with India, Sutherland had a five-wicket haul, which was crucial. This, however, makes Sutherland the second bowler to have a fifer on her birthday. Who could have been the previous bowler to have taken their name in this record?

1. Annabel Sutherland vs India

Annabel Sutherland is 24 years old on October 12, 2025. India and Australia were competing in the ICC Women's World Cup on the same day. Both happen to be in the title contenders with India hosting the tournament. And in the case of Australia, they have been dominant in the Women's World Cup.

Australia Women could acquire the toss in this game, and they chose to bowl first. India got the upper hand since the commencement of the match. This was a time when all the bowlers had been unable to succeed in getting wickets, and the birthday girl, Sutherland, intervened. She also completed her spell by picking five wickets and giving up only 40 runs.

This contributed to the scenario that Australia bowled out India at 330. It did not seem big, but that is what the Australia women made it look like. Finally, the team had 6 balls to go with to chase. Even though Sutherland lost the POTM award to Alyssa Healy, her efforts cannot be neglected.

2. Rashid Khan vs South Africa

Before Annabel Sutherland, this record was achieved by Rashid Khan. On 20 September 1998, the Afghanistani spinner turned 26 years old. And on the same day, Afghanistan faced South Africa in the second ODI match.

Afghanistan had the opportunity of winning the toss of this match, and they chose to bat first. This move to a significant degree assisted the team because they enjoyed placing 311/4 on the board. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got a century, and Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai made half-centuries.

When the batters of South Africa came to chase the total, they must have exposed themselves to the fury of Rashid Khan. Even Rashid resolved to treat himself to wickets on his birthday. Consequently, he removed Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreyne, and Wiaan Mulder.

This assisted Rashid Khan in completing the match by having a five-wicket haul. South Africa only scored 134 runs in the game. In addition, Rashid Khan was given the Player of the Match award following his impressive spell in the dash. He gave only 19 runs in 9 overs, playing a very important role on his birthday in the victory. This also saw Rashid Khan becoming the first bowler to have a birthday five-wicket haul.