With Smriti seemingly possessing the proverbial golden touch, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur decided to hand over the ball to her.
India Women’s opener Smriti Mandhana has been in sublime form recently. She registered consecutive tons in the ongoing three-match ODI series against the Proteas eves.
After scoring a nifty 117 off 127 balls in the first match of the series, Mandhana bettered it by notching up 136 off 120 balls earlier today in the second ODI.
With Smriti seemingly possessing the proverbial ‘Touch of Midas’, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur decided to hand over the ball to Mandhana during South Africa’s chase.
Mandhana, who has never bowled before in international cricket repaid the faith shown in her almost immediately, nicking Sune Luus behind to wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh for a 13-ball 12.
The batting left-hander bowled right-arm medium pace as she caught Luus off guard, who edged the ball to give Smriti her maiden ODI wicket. The delivery was bowled at a speed of 110.9 kmph.
The Chinnaswamy immediately erupted in celebrating their golden girl.
Watch the video of Smriti’s maiden international wicket below.
𝑺𝒎𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕, 𝑺𝒎𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍 😍#INDvSA #IDFCFirstBankWomensODITrophy #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/kORVBL31Nw
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) June 19, 2024
For the unversed, this is not the first time Smriti has bowled in professional cricket. She bowled for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women’s Premier League as well as in the Women’s Big Bash League.
At the time of writing this, the South Africa scoreboard read 99/3 after 20.5 overs.
Earlier, India posted a towering total of 325/3, courtesy of both Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana’s respective centuries. The pair also stiched a massive 171-run stand.
Smriti’s century was groundbreaking as she entered the record books for being the only Indian with back-to-back tons in Women’s ODIs.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Harmanpreet Kaur gives Smriti Mandhana a big hug after record-breaking ton
Mandhana also equalled former India Women’s skipper Mithali Raj for the most ODI centuries among Indian women with her seventh ton.
The Indian eves have already won the opening game and a win today will hand them an unassailable 2-0 lead as South Africa on the other hand, desperately need a win here to keep their chances alive.
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