Today marks 8 years of Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, and Sushma Verma in T20 international cricket as they made their debut for team India, on this day, in 2013.
The trio appeared for their first international match in Vadodara when they played in Bangladesh. This game was the third of the 3-match series, in which India was leading 2-0. With India electing to bat first, openers Mona Meshram and Smriti Mandhana put up a 53-run stand between them, before the prior lost her wicket. Mandhana, alongside skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, on her debut game, went on to score quick 39 runs with the bat before she was bowled out by Shukhtara.
Smriti Mandhana becomes the First and Only female cricketer to complete 4 Million Followers on Instagram. #SmritiMandhana @mandhana_smriti pic.twitter.com/umyug6rTzh
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 5, 2021
India’s innings weren’t that great as they were able to put together only 123 runs in 120 balls at the loss of 9 wickets. Mandhana was the top scorer for her side. Though Bangladesh started off their innings very well, their game slowed down after debutant Poonam Yadav started striking with the ball.
Of the 3 wickets in her (Yadav’s) scalp, Sushma Verma’s wicket-keeping skills helped her pick Bangladesh’s top scorer Lata Mondal on 32. Yadav’s brilliant spell of 3/21 on her debut game helped India clinch the series 3-0.
Since their debut games, all three of them have performed amazingly well for India. Opener Mandhana was just 17 when she played her debut game; Yadav, the leg-break googly bowler was 22 when she performed her spell with the ball, picking 3 important wickets; Sushma Verma kept the wickets at an international level at the age of just 21.
#OnThisDay in 2013,
Poonam Yadav made her T20I Debut and in just 8 years have achieved significant milestones. @poonam_yadav24 Congratulations on completing 8 successful years 👏 pic.twitter.com/rxx2oUOk8R
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 5, 2021
Now, after 8 years, Mandhana has 4035 international career runs, Poonam Yadav has 170 international career wickets, and Sushma Verma has 41 stumpings to her name. The three have been a very important part of the team, and all of them have made their mark.
For more such latest news and updates around women’s cricket, follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!