Smriti Mandhana scored a brilliant century for Team India in the first T20 match.
The Indian women’s cricket team registered a spectacular victory in the first match of the five-match T20 series against England. In this match played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, India defeated England by 97 runs, which is England’s biggest defeat in terms of runs in Women’s T20 International. Star batsman Smriti Mandhana played an explosive innings of 112 runs with the help of 15 fours and 3 sixes in 62 balls, helping India score 210 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs. This is the highest score of the Indian women’s team in T20 on England’s soil. Mandhana was named Player of the Match for her brilliant innings.
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England’s batting collapsed
England got off to a very bad start while chasing the huge target of 211 runs. Openers Sophia Dunkley (7) and Daniel Wyatt-Hodge (0) returned to the pavilion in the first two overs. Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt shared a 49-run partnership for the third wicket with Tammy Beaumont (10), but after Beaumont was dismissed in the sixth over, England’s innings collapsed like a pack of cards. The hosts were bundled out for 113 runs in 14.5 overs. Sciver-Brunt scored 66 runs in 42 balls, but seven batsmen of her team could not even touch the double digit mark. Amy Jones (1), Alice Capsey (5), and Sophie Ecclestone (1) performed disappointingly.
Shri Charani rocks in debut
Spinner Shri Charani performed brilliantly in his T20 debut for India. 20-year-old Charani took 4 wickets for just 12 runs in 3.5 overs, completely shattering England’s batting. All-rounders Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav took 2-2 wickets, while Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy took 1-1 wickets.
India’s batting prowess
After losing the toss and opting to bat first, Smriti Mandhana led the Indian team as regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur did not play due to a head injury in the practice match. Mandhana shared a 77-run partnership for the first wicket with Shefali Verma (20). After Shefali was dismissed in the ninth over, Mandhana shared a brilliant 94-run partnership for the second wicket with Harleen Deol (43 off 23 balls).
Mandhana completed her first T20 International century of her career in 51 balls, with which she became the first Indian woman cricketer to score a century in all three formats of Test, ODI, and T20. She was dismissed in the final over by Sophie Ecclestone. Lauren Bell took 3 wickets for England, while M Arlott and Ecclestone got 1-1 wickets.
Mandhana’s historic record
Smriti Mandhana not only surpassed her best T20 score (previous 87) in this innings, but also became the first Indian woman cricketer to score a century in all three formats of international cricket. Her innings led India to a huge score and made the challenge impossible for England.
