Mumbai: Indian woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana turns 23 today (July, 18, 2019). Recently, Mandhan was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award. 23-year-old Mandhana has amassed 1951 ODI runs in 50 matches, and 1298 T20I runs in 58 T20Is, proving how strong the left-handed batswoman is.
However, the women’s cricket is still lagging behind the men’s cricket. Lately, the women’s cricket has started gaining mass popularity and media attention. Mandhana is now a famous name among Indian cricket fans and on her birthday we would unravel some interesting facts about the birthday girl.
Cricket associations
Smriti Mandhana is a name which needs no introduction, but nobody knows the fact tahat her brother and father also played cricket at the district level for Sangla, a district in Maharastra.
Double tons
Mandhan was the first Indian woman cricketer to score a double ton in ODIs. Mandhana scored an unbeaten knock of 224 from 150 balls when she played for Maharashtra against Gujarat in West Zone under-19 tournament.
Holds a special bat
The left-hander possesses a bat gifted to her brother by ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid. Despite owning the bat, Mandhana never has used the bat to play.
Youngest T20 Captain
In February 2019, Mandhana led the women’s team against England to become the youngest T20 captain for India. The 23-year-old replaced
Mandhana became the youngest T20 captain for India in February, 2019 when she led the women’s team against England. She was just 22 years and 229 days old at the moment and replaced Harmanpreet Kaur as skipper, who was ruled out of the three-match T20 series due to an ankle injury. During that match, she was only 22 years and 229 days old.
I want Science but Commerce is fine
After she passed class 10, Mandhana wanted to pursue science as her streamline, but her mother convinced to take commerce because she thought that Mandhan wouldn’t be able to handle studies and cricket simultaneously. Hence, Mandhana opted for commerce and later on she pursued her Bachelor of Commerce.
Mandhana got inspiration from her brother who also used to play cricket. Mandhana’s parents were always supportive of her, and they wanted her to become one of the popular figures in cricket.
Now, Mandhana has become an iconic figure which needs no introduction. Besides playing in India, Mandhana also plays in various foreign leagues.
