IND-W vs SA-W First ODI: Smriti Mandhana scores fighting hundred, second against South Africa

Smriti Mandhana scored her sixth ODI century on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru against South Africa during India’s series opener in the multi-format series against the Proteas.

The opener scored 116 off 127 balls. This is Mandhana’s second century against the South Africans, the first coming back in 2018 when she amassed 135 runs at the Kimberley ground in South Africa.

This score coincidentally remains her highest ever in the ODI format.

Interestingly, this is Mandhana’s highest-ever score inside India in ODIs. Prior to this, she had scored a knock of 86 against England in Nagpur back in 2018.

At 111, Mandhana went for the maximum towards mid-wicket but Marizanne Kapp was there, with her eyes lit up. Unfortunately for the South African side, Kapp fluffed the catch, giving Mandhana a new lease on life.

It was just six runs later that Masabata Klaas scalped Mandhana’s wicket when the batter went for a big shot towards deep backward square leg and Sune Luus was present there to send the centurion back to the pavilion.

“I knew that I have never scored a century in India but it didn’t come to my mind when I was batting. Really happy that we have got to a good score,” the batter told broadcasters after her innings.

Mandhana also mentioned the pivotal partnership she built with Deepti Sharma, and how they were able to notch up five to six runs in an over.

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“Playing ODI cricket after a long time, it was hard to control my shots in the nets. We have been playing T20 cricket since the last 5-6 months so it’s hard to resist the temptation. I controlled my shots and it worked well. Since the last few days, the focus has been on keeping the ball on the ground,” she said on her return to this format.

The batter was also informed how she wasn’t experiencing any injuries coming into this series, but during her knock, she was cramping up in her groin and calf.