10 Interesting facts about the Indian prodigy Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana is making a name for herself. She has already scored a half century and a magnificent century in the Women’s World Cup 2017. The left-handed opening batter is on a roll right now and is one of the reasons Team India have won both of their games in the tournament so far.

Mandhana has come into the international team rising through the ranks. She has played cricket all her life and that reflects when the elegant southpaw caresses the ball to the ropes. The 20-year-old has gathered a lot of experience from the time she has spent in domestic cricket and was always a heavy run scorer in all the age groups. There is a lot to know about this young Indian prodigy, so here are some unknown facts about Smriti Mandhana.

1. Cricket runs her blood

Smriti has a family full of cricketers. Her father played district level cricket for Sangli and her brother has represented Maharashtra at the under-16 level. Cricket has always been with her and that obviously reflects in her game.

2. Debut at the age of 9

The left-hander was so good that she was called up by the Maharashtra under-15 team at the age of just 9. She then went on to feature for Maharashtra under-19 team at the age of 11.

3. First Indian woman to score a double century in a one-day game

Smriti Mandhana has been a revelation ever since she started playing cricket. In 2013, the southpaw scored a massive 224 in just 150 deliveries in a West Zone tournament for under-19s in Vadodara and she did it for Maharashtra while playing against the home team Gujarat. The bat she used to score the double century was given to her by the Indian legend Rahul Dravid.

4. ODI debut at the age of 17

She is one of the youngest debutants and was called up for the series against Bangladesh in 2013. She played her first game against the same opposition in the month of April in 2013 and has never looked back ever since.

5. Test debut at the age of 18

Mandhana was just 18 when she made her Test debut against England. It was August of 2014 when she played her first Test against England in Wormsley. She is yet to shine in the longest format of the game but will surely get better at it as she has time on her side.

6. Only Indian player to feature in the ICC women’s team of the year in 2016

At the age of 19, Mandhana made it to the ICC’s team of the year in 2016. For her magnificent display with the bat she was rewarded with a place in the team of the year along with some mega stars of the game.

7. Held the record for the highest T20 score by an Indian until last year

Smriti scored 96* for Maharashtra against Gujarat in a domestic T20 game. It was the highest score by an Indian woman in T20s until Mithali Raj scored a century last year.

8. Youngest Indian woman to score a 50 in T20I cricket

She is the youngest Indian woman to score a 50 in T20I international cricket. Mandhana has scored 424 runs in T20Is in the 25 matches she has played for the team.

9. Second youngest Indian woman to score a fifty in Test cricket

Smriti is the second youngest Indian to get to a fifty in Test cricket. However, she has only played 3 innings in Test cricket until now and will be looking to make it big in the longest format of the game in the near future.

10. Third youngest Indian woman to score a fifty in ODI cricket

Smriti is the third youngest Indian woman to scored a fifty in One Day Internationals. She has scored 897 runs in ODIs in 25 innings at an average of 37.37 which includes 2 centuries and 6 half centuries.