"The Queen of Indian Cricket" - Twitter reacts to Smriti Mandhana's ton in 2nd IND vs SA WODI in BengaluruÂ
Indian women's team opening batter, Smriti Mandhana, scored her second consecutive hundred in the ongoing second ODI against South Africa at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The left-handed batter, with her seventh hundred in the 50-over format, has equalled Mithali Raj's record for the most number of tons by an Indian batter.
After being put into bat by Laura Wolvaardt, the openers had a tough time against the South African new ball attack. In fact, it took Mandhana 17 balls to get off the mark, by which time the second half of the powerplay had begun. She, however, slowly found her tempo and steadily amped up the strike rate.
She reached her fifty in the 24th over of the innings at a crucial stage when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had come into the crease after Dayalan Hemalatha's dismissal. Mandhana went berserk as she inched closer to the three-figure mark. She scored four boundaries in a row, including three off Nondumiso Shangase's bowling in the 35th over of the innings.
Mandhana ultimately reached her hundred in the 39th over following a single off Sune Luus.
Fans reacted to the opening batter's incredible batting display following a tough start. Have a look at some of the reactions here:
"The consistency I expect from Smriti," one tweet read.
"Nice to see her getting her mojo back," one fan posted.
"The Queen of Indian Cricket," another tweet read.
Team India coasting towards a mammoth total with Smriti Mandhana still unbeaten at the crease
The duo of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have been dominant in the second half of the innings, taking India safe from a tricky situation at 100/2 after 23 overs. The duo have since then brought up their 100-run partnership and are now going all out in the dying stages of the innings to push India to a winning total.
As of writing, Smriti Mandhana is unbeaten on 119 off 114 balls, while Harmanpreet Kaur has also scored 73 runs off 72 deliveries. India are placed at 249/2 after 44 overs, and it is to be noted that they defended a 265-run target with ease in the series opener at the same venue.