Mandhana career-best 135 lifts India
India opener Smriti Mandhana scored a career-best 135 off 129 balls to help the Indian women’s team post its secondhighest ODI score in the second ODI against South Africa on Wednesday.
Put into bat, India piled up 302 for three with Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy hitting half-centuries. India’s previous highest ODI score was 358 for two against Ireland last year in Potchefstroom in the build-up to the World Cup in England.
On Wednesday, India were off to a solid start with Mandhana stitching together a 56-run opening stand with Punam Raut who scored 20 off 37 balls.
Skipper Mithali Raj too got a start but could not capitalise on it and was dismissed for 20 off 34 balls. But then with Harmanpreet, Mandhana put up a 134-run stand for the third wicket which set India up for a big total.
When Mandhana got out caught behind, India were looking good on 241 for three in the 44th over. Krishnamurthy then played a cameo, a 33-ball 51 with six fours and a six, to take India past the 300-run mark. Harmanpreet played anchor with a 69-ball 55 with two fours and a six.
Mandhana hit 14 fours and a six in her knock. Her previous best ODI score was an unbeaten 106 against the West Indies in Taunton last year. This was her third ODI ton.
Mandhana had scored a match-winning 84 on Monday to help India to an 88-run victory and go 1-0 up in the three-match series. The series, also a firstround fixture of the ICC Women’s Championship, gives both the teams a chance to directly qualify for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup.
This is the first international series for the women’s team. After a runner-up finish in the World Cup, Mithali and her team did not play any international games --- thanks to lackadaisical planning on the part of the BCCI.
Batting was a disappointment for South Africa in the first ODI after they were dismissed for a paltry 125 in 43.2 overs. The hosts had slipped to 23 for three after Lizelle Lee (3), Trisha Chetty (5) and Mignon du Preez (0) all fell cheaply on Monday.
But on Wednesday, it was the South African bowling and fielding that would raise concerns. The batting needs to step up a few notches to overhaul a 303-run target, especially on a wicket that was offering some turn.
KIMBERLY: MANDHANA’S PREVIOUS BEST ODI SCORE WAS 106 NOT OUT AGAINST WEST INDIES IN
TAUNTON LAST YEAR. THIS WAS HER THIRD ODI CENTURY.