ICC Women’s WC: Mandhana spells out ‘no distraction’ mantra for India as she chases two big records

MUMBAI: Ahead of her side’s ICC Women’s World Cup campaign opener against Sri Lanka, star India batter Smriti Mandhana said that with the campaign opener, there will be a lot of expectations, but it is important for the team to stick to its processes and not get affected by external pressure.

Smriti will be one of the biggest attractions during the ICC Women’s World Cup opener against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday. The left-hander has been in rampaging form all year and recently broke Indian batting icon Virat Kohli’s record for the fastest ton by an Indian cricketer in ODIs against Australia in Delhi. As the match draws closer, she nears another massive record.

Speaking to JioStar ahead of the tournament, Smriti said, “The game against Sri Lanka will be our first, and naturally, there will be expectations around it. But for us, the key is to stay focused on our processes and not get distracted by external pressure. We have played good cricket over the last 12 months, and it is important to back ourselves and have faith in our abilities.”

This year, Mandhana has been in red-hot form, scoring 928 runs in 14 innings at an average of 66.28 with a strike rate of 115.85, with four centuries and three fifties and a best score of 135.

She finished as the leading run-getter in the recent home series against Australia, which India lost 1-2, with 300 runs in three matches at an average of 100.00, with two centuries and a fifty.

Mandhana needs 43 runs to break Australia’s Belinda Clark’s record of 970 runs in women’s ODIs during the 1997 calendar year, the most by a women’s cricketer.

In 108 ODIs, Mandhana has scored 4,888 runs at an average of 47.92, with 13 centuries and 32 fifties in 108 innings, with a best score of 136. Having struck 16 international tons, including two in Tests and one in T20Is, Mandhana is just two tons away from overtaking Australian legend Meg

Lanning (15 centuries in ODIs and two T20I tons) for the most centuries in international women’s cricket.

In 16 WC matches for India, Mandhana has made 559 runs in 16 innings at an average of 37.26, with two centuries and three fifties, with a best score of 123.

India squad for ICC Women’s World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud. Reserves: Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Minnu Mani, Sayali Satghare. (ANI)