During their pursuit of the daunting 413-run target in the third and deciding Women’s One Day International (WODI), Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana hit the second fastest hundred in the history of the format
against Australia in Delhi. The 29-year-old brought up the three-figure score in just 50 balls after hitting leg spinner Alana King for a maximum, to also become the fastest to a WODI hundred for India, putting them well on their way to chasing down the runs.
In the process of reaching her 13th WODI hundred, Smriti Mandhana struck 14 fours and four sixes within the first 18 overs of the Indian innings, pulverising the Australian bowling attack. After India lost two of their top order batters cheaply, Smriti Mandhana shared a 121-run stand for the third wicket with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, to help India go past 200 runs in just under 20 overs before the latter lost her wicket to Kim Garth following some medical attention.
Watch the video here:
Harmanpreet Kaur ended up with 52 off 35 to her name, an innings which included eight fours, and shortly after her dismissal, Smriti Mandhana got out to Grace Harris. She scored 125 runs in just 63 balls with 17 fours and five sixes, leaving India 216/4 in 21.1 overs with two new batters in Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh at the crease, still needing a further 197 runs in 28.5 overs.
Earlier in the afternoon, Beth Mooney had scored a hundred in just 57 balls, to become the joint-second fastest to a hundred in WODI cricket at the time before being dumped to joint-third fastest, and the record still stays with Meg Lanning, who did it in 45 balls.
Below are the playing XIs of India and Australia for the third WODI:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Renuka Singh
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Grace Harris, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt
