Some latest cricket updates include Indian women cricket team cricketer Smriti Mandhana who has been in great form in the field. Mandhana is 26 years old, but she is already regarded as one of the most talented and outstanding batters of the modern era. While following the recent cricket news about her accomplishments, let’s discuss the significant milestones of her cricket career.
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Humble Beginnings
Smriti Mandhana was born on July 18, 1996 in Mumbai, India into a family that enjoyed cricket. Her father, Smita Mandhana, had a small cricket academy and her two elder brothers had played cricket at the district level. Her journey to becoming a cricketer began at the age of nine, and she used to practise with her brothers. But, at that time, there was very little that girls could do. Smriti went on to explain how she used to cut her hair really short just to get a chance to play in her housing complex. However, nothing that was done on the field could diminish her passion for the sport. She got an opportunity to play for Maharashtra under 15 team when she was just eleven years of age.
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Domestic Success
Following several successful seasons for Maharashtra, Smriti was drafted into the Railways cricket team when she was only 17 years of age. That was a massive fillip in terms of visibility which yielded good results when they got the opportunity to play alongside Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra. In the one day format, she achieved the landmark of scoring a hundred on debut in the 2013-14 season. Her attacking batting style saw her being selected to feature for India in the 2014 T20 World Cup held in Bangladesh, when she was just teenager.
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International Debut
Smriti Mandhana was selected into the Indian T20I team for the series against Bangladesh in April 2013 when she was only 16 years old. She did very well and managed to get 39 runs from 25 balls. It was another game which lacked aggression but was very elegant and had great stroke play. By being India’s second highest scorer she created her own place in her very first international series. Her regular and capable performance enhanced her chances of getting selected in the team of India for the T20 World Cup in 2014 in Bangladesh.
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Best Newcomer of 2016 World Cup
Smriti’s international breakthrough came at the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup held in India. She completed her tournament as the fifth highest run scorer. Her attacking approach using the blade scoring over 116 runs per dismissal thrilled the home fans. She looked quite relaxed facing the best of the best like the Australian and English teams and made mincemeat out of bowlers such as Megan Schutt and Anya Shrubsole. Her fighting fifty against the mighty West Indian bowlers put India in a dominating position. It was unfortunate though that India could not sustain the momentum during the run chase, but Smriti had undoubtedly proven herself and was a mainstay in India’s batting line-up.
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Achieving Milestones
The year 2017 was a remarkable year for Smriti. She was able to achieve all these in her short time she played in Australia T20 domestic league; she is the youngest cricketer and second women after Mithali Raj to be part of it. She also featured in the ICC Women’s Team of the Year due to her performance in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Her free flowing batting earned her this year’s ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year award as well. She was the main architect of India’s journey to the finals of the World Cup in England where she accumulated a total of 409 runs in 11 matches at an average of 45.
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Becoming Vice Captain
The consistent performance with the bat across formats made Smriti leap to the position of India vice-captain. She went on adding the runs against teams like Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa. Later in the same year of 2018, she hit her first ODI hundred against South Africa. By the early part of the year 2020, she crossed the 2,000-run mark in ODIs to become the fastest Indian woman to do so. Full of shots she is, which makes Smriti one of the most entertaining players to watch in the women’s cricket today.
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Ruling the World Cup
The ICC women’s cricket World Cup that was held in New Zealand in 2022 saw Smriti being in the best form. She was India’s best batswomen who scored 318 runs in just 7 innings which made her as the highest run getter of the tournament with a mind blowing strike rate of 63.6. Smriti loved to open the innings, she played the crucial innings against Pakistan, West Indies and England teams. Her fifty against Australia played a vital role when India won the last-ball thriller. She took charge and slammed a magnificent 123 against West Indies, and created records for the fastest fifty and hundred by an Indian woman in World Cups. Despite their loss in the finals, Smriti’s outstanding performance ensured she made it to the team of the year for the tournament.
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Global Superstar
Much has changed in the years that followed, and Smriti had gradually turned into a role-model for the newcomers dreaming of representing India. She draws attention with the great flamboyance in her stroke play that is inspired from her favourite player Adam Gilchrist. Apart from the field, she has a massive following on social media and uses it to advocate for women’s cricket. The tenacity and passion that she has for the game is evident when she is being interviewed. In the year 2022 the trailblazing southpaw secured her first multi-million-dollar deal with MPL sports as their newest brand ambassador. She also works for promotions by esteemed brands like Puma and EsteeLauder. Currently 26 years, she is virtually a veteran who has achieved a lot yet she symbolises youth whom future generations look up to.
Conclusion
As we take a look on the glorious cricket career of Smriti Mandhana till date, it is important to note that some of the top cricket news in this decade associated with women’s cricket has been her powerful hitting. With a world beating average in T20s, Arguably her best years on the pitch are still ahead of her. You can wish to see more trails being set by Smriti for women cricket in Indian cricket as one of the most impactful hitters in today’s cricket.
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