On Saturday, June 28, Smriti Mandhana smashed her maiden women’s T20I century, one of her best innings in international cricket. England was thrashed by Mumbai’s batters in the opening T20I at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, falling behind 0-1 in the five-match series.
Mandhana, who was also the Indian team’s stand-in captain, hit an extraordinary 112-run knock off 62 deliveries, including 15 fours and three sixes, to enable India reach 210/5 in the first innings. In response, the hosts were bowled out for 113 in 14.5 overs.
Following her triumphs in Nottingham, Mandhana provided an honest assessment of her game in the simplest manner.
She stated that she is still honing her art as a T20 batter, as she prefers timing over huge hits.
“It’s not a natural format for me because I like to time the ball and am not a huge hitter. And for the last six years, it’s always been a work in progress – and it still is,” Mandhana told the ICC.
Mandhana was overjoyed to see that her behind-the-scenes efforts to improve her power game were paying off.
“So, achieving a hundred in this format is quite exceptional because it’s not one of my strengths. achieving it in Test cricket and One Day cricket, which are better suited to my batting, was also significant. I mean, the improvement, and I’m trying to work a lot on my power hitting, so seeing it come through is a really wonderful feeling,” Mandhana said.
Mandhana stated that the burden of leading the team does not put her under additional strain while she bats. The 28-year-old expressed her happiness at being able to contribute to India’s victory.
“As a batter, it doesn’t change very much. You don’t think you’re captaining, therefore you bat differently. “Whenever you have the bat in your hand, you have to do the job for the team regardless of your position, so I’m very happy that I was able to contribute today,” Mandhana stated.
India
