Smriti Mandhana applauds Jemimah Rodrigues for scoring a double ton

The explosive opener of the Indian batting line-up Smriti Mandhana has lauded young Jemimah Rodrigues for scoring a double-century in the One-Day tournament. The upcoming cricketer smashed 202 runs off just 163 deliveries for Mumbai against Saurashtra in West Zone women’s cricket U-19 tournament. She became the second Indian woman to achieve the feat as the first ever woman cricketer to do so was none other than Smriti herself.

Mandhana made name for herself in the same tournament back in 2013 in Vadodara when she scored an unbeaten 224 for Maharashtra against Gujarat. She was also the part of the Indian squad which stormed into the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup earlier this year. The opener had also scored a stupendous century against West Indies in the group stages of the tournament. She is touted to be the next big thing in the Indian cricket after Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.

It is a very big achievement

Smriti Mandhana was all praise of her state-mate Jemimah Rodrigues for her superlative efforts on the ground and opined that scoring a double ton in One-Day cricket for women is as much difficult as it is for men.. “I am very happy to know Jemimah scored a double hundred. It is a very good achievement for her. We already know Jemimah is a very good batter. I am quite looking forward to the progress she makes in her career. As much as it is difficult for men to score a double century,” she said as quoted by DNA India on Sunday evening.

Smriti also recalled the time when she had scored 224 in the early days of her career. “When I scored it, I didn’t realise how big it was. But when people started talking about it, you know how it was a big thing. I scored the double century in my last year of U-19 and Jemimah has scored when she is only 16. It is a very big achievement by her,” she added.

Mumbai posted a mammoth 347/2 in their 50 overs on the back of some sensational hitting by Rodrigues. They skittled Saurashtra out for just 62 after that and won the game by a mammoth 285 runs to progress in the knock-out tournament.