It is another feather in the cap for India’s maiden women pink ball centurion Smriti Mandhana as she becomes the first one from the country to slam a Big Bash Century too.
Registering her name in the record book yet again after equalling the highest individual WBBL score with Ashleigh Gardner, Mandhana remained unbeaten on 114 off just 64 balls in a do-or-die match for the Sydney Thunders against Melbourne Renegades in the ongoing Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Coming into the chase with 176 to score, Mandhana had a slow start, scoring run a ball 14 and with wickets falling from the other end with Sammy-Jo Johnson and Phoebe Litchfield returning to the dressing room in the powerplay itself, it was difficult getting the required momentum. However, once she got that with Tahlia Wilson, no one was able to stop her till the end. She reached her half-century from 33 balls and went on like a bullet train thereafter taking Holly Ferling for 4,6,4,6,2,2 in the 18th over. The over in which she reached her maiden WBBL or in fact her maiden T20I century. Her outstanding innings consisted of 14 Fours and 3 Sixes at the strike rate of 178.13. However, her phenomenal performance got just a boundary short of keeping Thunder’s hope for the Knockout phase alive.
Excellent show of cricket by Team India’s T20I Captain and Vice-Captain at the #WBBL today 😃
👉 Harman scored 81 not out in just 55 balls
👉 Smriti smashed 114 not out in just 64 Balls#WBBL07 pic.twitter.com/b1TfaJGPHt— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 17, 2021
In yet another last over decider, the defending champions needed just two big hits for a draw and a single more for the victory (13 runs off 6 balls), Renegade’s captain Sophie Molineux who held her nerves in the 19th over, considering just 9 runs, gave the last 6 decider balls to Mandhana’s teammate and India’s T20 Captain Harmanpreet Kaur who scored a brilliant 81 off 55 balls with the bat in the same match. It was a tough call for sure for Molineux because you never know who among the two dominates, with both knowing each other’s game well. However, Molineux’s choice made the Renegade’s climb up the table once again with 18 points and ended Sydney Thunder’s hope to defend their title.
Guess who just equaled Ashleigh’s 4 Year Old record of highest individual runs in a WBBL Innings 😃
Smriti Mandhana: Year 2021
Ashleigh Gardner: Year 2017
Alyssa Healy: Year 2018#WBBL2021 #WBBL07 pic.twitter.com/3EL7MfvdG1— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 17, 2021
Though ending up on the losing side, the player of the match, Smriti Mandhana definitely deserves a big round of applause. She played a knock to remember for sure. In minutes of her outstanding achievement, social media was flooded in her appreciation with the hashtag, #SmritiMandhana trending on Twitter in India.
Highlights of that Smriti Special Knock 😍👇 #WBBL07 #WBBL2021 pic.twitter.com/wSUjEVQiUH
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 17, 2021
Congratulations Smriti! We are PROUD OF YOU
