CWG 2022: Smriti Mandhana notches up fastest T20I half-century for India Women, breaks her own record

Indian opening batter Smriti Mandhana played a brilliant match-winning knock which helped Team India to defeat England by four runs and reach the finals of the Commonwealth Games 2022. It was a memorable knock for her, as she did not just give her team the dream start, but also broke her own record of the fastest half-century by an Indian woman.

Mandhana notched up a glorious fifty off just 23 deliveries on Saturday (August 6) at Edgbaston in Birmingham during the first semi-finals of CWG 2022. She was in an attacking mode from the word go, and aimed for the fences from the moment she walked out in the first innings. The Indian vice-captain broke her own milestone for the quickest fifty by an Indian woman batter in T20 Internationals.

In her 32-ball 61, Mandhana, who opened with Shafali Verma, hammered the English bowling attack with eight fours and three big sixes. The bold player had earlier scored a half-century off just 24 balls in a 2019 match against New Zealand. In an earlier matchup with England in 2018, she had reached the mark in 25 deliveries.

Fastest half-century for India in Women’s T20Is (in balls):

Mandhana joined Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul on an elite list of batters with her ferocious knock. Speaking of individual scores after the powerplay, she now holds the record for India’s highest individual T20I score (male or female), as she notched up 51 runs off 24 deliveries in the first six overs. With 50 runs, Rohit and Rahul previously shared the record. With 49 runs against South Africa, Shafali Verma was next on the list.

Highest individual score for India in powerplay (T20Is)

51 – Smriti Mandhana vs England

50 – Rohit Sharma vs New Zealand

50 – KL Rahul vs Scotland

49 – Shafali Varma vs South Africa

In the recently concluded semi-final game of the CWG 2022, Mandhana was dismissed in the ninth over as she was scalped by the English skipper Natalie Sciver. It was a nail-biting thriller, and even after a poor track record against England in the white-ball format, India overpowered the hosts and handed them a disappointing loss to make their way into the grand finale.