Smriti Mandhana Powers India to Record-Breaking ODI Triumph
India recorded a landmark victory in the second ODI against Australia as Smriti Mandhana produced a stunning century. The left-handed opener smashed 117 from 91 balls, setting the platform for India’s 292 before the visitors were dismissed for 190. The 102-run triumph ended India’s 17-year wait for a home ODI win over Australia and also handed the Aussies their heaviest defeat by runs in ODI history, as per ICC records.
Mandhana’s knock came right after she climbed to the top of the ICC Women’s ODI Batter Rankings, underlining her dominance at the highest level. Her consistency at the top continues to define India’s approach as the team builds toward the World Cup.
Speaking on The ICC Review, Australia’s Meg Lanning showered praise on Mandhana’s influence.
“She’s got a lot of good cricket ahead of her, Smriti [Mandhana]. She’s already a world-class player, has been for a long time, and especially in this format of the game, she’s capable of really making those match-winning scores and those big hundreds, and they’re the players you worry about as an opposition team,” Lanning said.
Lanning highlighted how Mandhana thrives under pressure in crucial moments.
“She’s shown that time and time again that she’s very dangerous and able to perform under pressure in big moments. So she’s setting herself up nicely for a really big World Cup,” she added.
Australia’s Tactical Approach Against Mandhana
The Australian captain revealed that her team had put considerable thought into plans to counter Mandhana.
“She took up a lot of time in our planning meetings, that’s for sure,” Lanning admitted.
Although her numbers at World Cups against Australia are modest, Mandhana has maintained a prolific record overall — scoring 791 runs in 18 matches against the seven-time champions, including three centuries.
“She’s developed her game a lot as well. I think we’ve seen the Australians use Ash Gardner a lot up front to her in the past. I think off spin’s been a good match-up [against her]. So I think a lot of teams around the world will try and employ that,” Lanning observed.
She further assessed the influence of conditions.
“The conditions come into it a little bit. The wickets over there seem to be pretty good, but if there is a little bit more turn and spin in it, then yeah, you might see teams opening with spin a little bit more. But yeah, she’s certainly very difficult to bowl to. And as I said, she takes up a lot of time in terms of planning. So it’ll be interesting to see if any teams come up with anything different.”
Looking Ahead
India and Australia will lock horns again on 12th October in Visakhapatnam. With Mandhana in brilliant touch and Australia eager to hit back, the clash promises to be one of the highlights of the tournament.
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