Indian opener Smriti Mandhana has achieved a special milestone in the high-voltage clash between Mithali Raj-led Team India and arch-rivals Pakistan at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 on Sunday.
Leading Team India’s charge in their campaign opener against Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan side, premier batter Mandhana scored a gritty half-century after the Women In Blue opted to bat first at Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval.
Team India suffered an early blow in the form of young opener Shefali i Verma, who was handed a six-ball duck by Diana Baig in the third over.
Joining forces with premier batter Deepti Sharma, opener Mandhana played a stellar knock to help Team India bounce back in the high octane encounter between the two Asian giants. Mandhana completed her half-century before the end of the 21st over.
The Indian opener also managed to rewrite history by playing a fighting knock against Pakistan. Mandhana also completed 2,500 runs for Team India in the 50-over format.
The Indian opener is the fourth-highest run-getter in One Day Internationals (ODI) for the Asian giants. The Indian southpaw is only behind Harmanpreet Kaur (2664), Anjum Chopra (2856) and batting icon Mithali Raj (7623) in the elite ODI list.
After registering her 21st half-century in the 50-over format for India, opener Mandhana was removed by Nashra Sandhu on the final ball of the 21st over. After Mandhana’s departure, the Mithali-led Team India side suffered a shocking batting collapse as the Women In Blue were reduced to 114-6 in 33.1 overs.
Earlier, Indian opener Mandhana had secured the eighth spot in the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings. While Mandhana climbed four spots to take 8th place, Indian skipper Mithali retained her second spot in the ODI batting rankings. Mithali also became the third player to feature in six ODI World Cups. Mithali has joined Sachin Tendulkar and Javed Miandad in the elite list.