Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana score Centuries in Record Partnership against Windies

On Saturday, India’s Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur wreaked havoc with the bat as they tore apart the West Indian bowling attack into pieces at the Seddon Park in Hamilton during the 10th match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Smriti Mandhana scores Century in World Cup 2022 against West Indies. PC: Getty Images

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, India got off to a flying start, thanks to the opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia, who clobbered 49 runs in just 6.3 overs. After the departure of Bhatia, captain Mithali Raj (5) and Deepti Sharma (15), Mandhana joined hands with India’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur to take the game away from West Indies. This left hand – right hand combination plundered 184 runs for the fourth wicket to shatter many records.

The partnership of 184 is the highest for any team in Women’s Cricket World Cup surpassing England’s record of 170 held by Tammy Beaumont and Natalie Sciver during the 2017 World Cup. It is also the highest fourth wicket partnership for India in women’s ODI cricket and also the highest partnership by India for any wicket against West Indies in women’s ODI cricket.

Mandhana (123 runs off 119 balls) and Kaur (109 runs off 107 balls) blistered delectable centuries and registered their fifth and fourth ODI century respectively. While Mandhana scored her second ODI century against West Indies, Kaur mustered her first against the Caribbeans. With this century, Kaur became the only player to have atleast three centuries in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Standing shoulder to shoulder, Mandhana recorded her second century in the World Cup.

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The duo played some good looking shots and ran hard between the wickets to push West Indies to the backfoot. They played all around the ground making it difficult for the opposition to set fields. They exuded a perfect blend of elegance and muscle power through their entertaining partnership. They also guided India to a formidable score of 317-8 in 50 overs, which is so far the highest total posted by a team in the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup so far.

With their respective innings in today’s match against West Indies, Kaur and Mandhana are the top two run getters in this edition of the World Cup so far.

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