While Indian batsmen continue to struggle in the first Test at Edgbaston, Smriti Mandhana is continuing her astonishing form in Women Super League T20. Mandhana scored her maiden century in the tournament off just 61 balls. She took the mantle of chasing down the target (154) on herself and took Western Storm home, comfortably with 10 balls to spare.
Mandhana rattled the bowlers. It almost looked like she was batting on a different pitch altogether. Despite the early wickets of Rachel Priest and skipper Heather Knight, the 22-year-old made life hard for the Lancashire Thunder bowlers.
In the middle overs, she tried to form a partnership with Stefanie Taylor who was playing almost run-a-ball. The Indian opener reached her half-century off 34 balls in the 10th over.
After reaching her half century she decided to target the bowlers. Even Harmanpreet Kaur went for two back-to-back boundaries in the 11th over. She reached her century off 60 balls in the 18th over. She got out after taking Western Storm to victory’s doorstep. Her innings included 12 fours and 4 sixes.
She has been phenomenal in this tournament scoring 282 runs in 5 innings, including 1 half-century and century at an average of 92.
Smriti Mandhana in Kia Super League (T20 format):
48 (20)
37 (21)
52* (19)
43* (26)
102 (61)282 runs in 5 inns
Ave 94.00
SR 190.54#KiaSuperLeague— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 3, 2018
Ask Smriti Mandhana to bat for you guys, she just scored a ton here. #EngvInd
— Monica (@monicas004) August 3, 2018
Can we have Smriti Mandhana open the batting at Lord’s in the second Test? Just asking. #ENGvIND
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 3, 2018
Name : Smriti Mandhana
Job : Winning Player of the Match Award for her team #Smritimandhana @mandhana_smriti @WesternStormKSL #KiaSuperLeague pic.twitter.com/iAqCRhi248— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 3, 2018
Smriti Mandhana scored 102 off 61 balls for Western Storm against Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League today.
She is only the 2nd Indian to score a century in Women’s Twenty20 cricket after Mithali Raj (100* for Railways in 2017). #KSL2018
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) August 3, 2018
Amidst this glorious test, so happy for #SmritiMandhana. Her first T20 century today. Scoring so many runs in England will mean a lot to her after last year. #star #KSL2018
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) August 3, 2018
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On the other hand, Harmanpreet was unlucky in her second match. She got run out for a duck in the first innings and failed to make a mark with the ball. However, she starred on her debut match by winning the match with a six off the penultimate delivery.
