Twenty-two-year-old Smriti Mandhana, Indian Women’s cricket team player, led the chase for India, scoring a century and clinching eight-wicket triumph over New Zealand on Tuesday.
“It feels great but I think our bowlers deserved the player of the match award more than me. I will give it away to our bowlers, they did a great job to restrict New Zealand on a good wicket,” said Smriti who received the player of the match award for the second time.
During the course of the match between India and New Zealand, India opted to field but many coaches, commentators, and the players felt that it was a difficult pitch to get runs on. However, two players in the match who scored at more than run-a-ball were New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu and Smriti who made 90 not out off 83 balls.
Smriti and skipper Mithali Raj, who made 63 not out off 111 balls, stitched together an unbeaten 151 run partnership as India chased down the 162-run target with 14.4 overs to spare.
Since the start of 2018 women’s ODIs, Smriti has shown a remarkable performance as she has scored the most number of runs, sixes, and fours. Along with this, she has also registered the most number of 50-plus scores.
Complementing Smriti’s performance, Captain of Indian women’s cricket team, Mithali said, “I am happy with the way the team is shaping up. I have always enjoyed batting in challenging conditions. It wasn’t easy, it required patience here. Smriti is in good form and somebody had to give her support.”