Birthday Special: Smriti Mandhana – Best international knocks of the power-hitter
Indian opener Smriti Mandhana is celebrating her 25th birthday today. She has been one of the key players for India in the last four to five years. Mandhana has been opening the innings in all three formats and has helped India win a lot of games. In this article, let’s look at the three best knocks of her career so far:
106* vs West Indies, World Cup 2017
In this important clash in the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup, West Indies scored 183/8 after they were asked to bat first. Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Harmanpreet Kaur picked up 2 wickets each for India. Chasing a steep target, India lost opener Punam Raut for a duck in the very 1st over. The 2nd wicket also fell soon at the score of 33 runs in the form of Deepti Sharma. From there, Mandhana played a classic knock to take India to victory. She slammed an unbeaten 106 off 108 balls including 13 fours and 2 sixes. India won the match by 7 wickets in 42.3 overs. Mandhana was adjudged as the Player of the Match for her brilliant knock.
83 vs West Indies, T20 World Cup 2018
Mandhana played a vital knock of 83 in 55 balls against Australia in the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup. The Indian team posted a total of 167/8 thanks to her fiery innings. Mandhana hit 9 fours and 3 sixes en route her half-century. Chasing this total, Australia were bundled out for 119 runs in 19.4 overs, with India winning the clash by 48 runs. Once again, Mandhana ended up as the player of the match in this game.
90 vs England, World Cup 2017
This was India’s first match in the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup, and that too against hosts England. The Indian openers got off to a superb start adding 144 runs for the first wicket. Mandhana smashed 90 off only 72 balls including 11 fours and 2 sixes. Apart from her, Punam Raut and Mithali Raj also hit their respective fifties. India posted a total of 281/3 in 50 overs. Chasing this target, England were bundled out for 246 in 47.3 overs, losing the match by 35 runs. Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning innings.
