Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hailed star opening batter Smriti Mandhana as she is set to feature in her 150th fixture in T20 Internationals when India Women take on England Women on Tuesday.
India Women shocked England Women in the first T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, winning by a whopping 97 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The Women in Blue will now aim to double their lead at the County Ground in Bristol.
Smriti Mandhana’s Journey to 150 T20I Matches
In a video shared by BCCI, Harmanpreet said, “It’s a great achievement as a player because when we start playing cricket, we always have a dream to play for the country. The way, you know, she’s hitting the ball, I think that is something which is totally different from others, and she has a lot of time when she’s batting. She made batting look very easy the way, you know, she was handling England ballers.”
Mandhana has played 149 T20 Internationals so far and has scored 3873 runs with an average of 30.02 and a strike rate of 124.41. She also has 30 half-centuries and a century to her name.
Dominant Knock Against England in Nottingham
Smriti Mandhana showcased her brilliance in the first T20I against England, hammering a stunning 112-run knock in Nottingham. Her performance not only helped India seal a dominant win but also earned her a rise in the ICC T20I batting rankings.
Smriti Mandhana’s Rise in T20I Rankings
Thanks to her recent heroics, Mandhana now holds a career-best rating of 771 points in T20Is and has climbed to the third spot in the latest rankings. She is now just 23 points behind top-ranked batter Beth Mooney.
India Women’s Squad for England T20I Series
Smriti also led the Indian team in the first T20I in Harmanpreet Kaur’s absence and guided them to victory. The Indian squad for the series includes: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Shuchi Upadhyay, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare.
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