OTD | Indian Women’s Cricket team star batter Smriti Mandhana was born in 1996

Smriti Mandhana, born on 18th July 1996, is an Indian batter who has scored some brilliant knocks for the team. She is one of those young players who has scored consistently and plays for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). She is basically from Maharashtra and plays domestic cricket from their side. 

She has won multiple awards for her performances, including the ‘Best Women’s International Cricketer’ in BCCI awards; in December 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded her the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the top female cricketer of the year. Later, on 30 December 2021, she became a nominee for the ICC Women’s T20 Player of the Year. 

Mandhana made her Test debut against England at the Wormsley Park in 2014. She played a match-winning knock in the game, which was quite appreciated. She scored 22 and 51 runs, respectively, in both innings. She became the third-fastest cricketer, scoring 2,000 runs in her 51st innings. Later, in 2020, she won the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. 

In total, she has played seven matches and scored 629 runs at an average of 57.18. She has hit two centuries and three half-centuries in red-ball cricket. Moreover, in the ODIs, she has played 85 matches and scored 3585 runs at an average of 45.37. She has scored seven centuries and 27 half-centuries. In T20Is, she has played 136 games and scored 3320 runs at an average of 28.13. 

Also read: Former New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams was born in 1975