'Smriti loves to have tea, so I got a chai cup' - Jemimah Rodrigues surprises Mandhana with special birthday gesture

India Women’s star batter, Smriti Mandhana celebrated her 28^th birthday on July 18 as the Indian team braces to take on Pakistan in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. On the occasion of India's vice-captain’s birthday, BCCI uploaded a video featuring her teammates wishing the batting sensation with anecdotes from their camaraderie on and off the field. 

The video featured Mandhana’s childhood pictures since her playing days before making it to the Indian team. Wishes poured in from her brother and mother followed by India captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. Shreyanka Patil along with Jemimah Rodrigues and other teammates sang a birthday song, playing a guitar. The most special gift came from Jemimah as she crafted a hand-painted tea cup to make things special.

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“Happy birthday, Smriti! So it's Smriti's birthday, I thought I should make her something personal and something which I put in effort. Smriti loves to have tea, so I got a chai cup. This is Smriti scoring the century. This is all of you all cheering in the stands. This is number 18 over here, Smriti's jersey number. And the most favourite part, Smriti bowling. Because now our madam friend has become an all-rounder. So yeah, this is a little something that I made for Smriti,” said Jemimah in a video uploaded by BCCI.

Here's the video uploaded by BCCI:

Mandhana shows consistency in multi-format series 

On the cricketing front, Mandhana was in blistering form in the recently concluded multi-format series against South African women. She became the only Indian batter to score two consecutive ODI tons before getting out in the 90s in the third ODI. She continued her sound form in the one-off Test scoring 149 runs and following it up with an unbeaten 54 in the third T20I to help India level the series. She will be hoping to continue with the roaring form in the Asia Cup ahead of the crucial T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.