[Watch] Smriti Mandhana rolls her arm against Mumbai Indians in WPL 2023
Smriti Mandhana rolled her arm against Mumbai Indians in the ongoing WPL 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 21.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain bowled the 17th over of the MI innings when the opponents required just six runs to win their last group-stage match. The right-hand seamer bowled a couple of dots but gave away a boundary and five wides as MI won by four wickets.
Watch the video below:
🏻♂️Smriti Mandhana bowling!!🙆🏻♂️
#TATAWPL #ನಮ್ಮRCB
#RCBvsMI #SmritiMandhana https://t.co/zlgKIYxend
It’s worth mentioning that the 26-year-old has never bowled in international cricket. Mandhana’s India teammate Harleen Deol saw some similarities between Virat Kohli and her bowling actions. She wrote on Twitter:
“Seems like jersey no 18 has the same bowling action.. what say @mandhana_smriti.!!!!!!”
Seems like jersey no 18 has the same bowling action.. what say @mandhana_smriti ..!!!!!!
As per ESPNCricinfo, Mandhana bowls right-arm off break while Kohli bowls right-arm medium fast.
"My personal form wasn’t great" – Smriti Mandhana on her WPL 2023 campaign
Smriti Mandhana rued RCB’s failure to deliver in WPL 2023 despite having world-class players like Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight and Megan Schutt in their ranks. She also expressed disappointment with her disastrous form in the tournament.
Mandhana said:
“We tried to fight. Kanika bowled well. One of those days as a fielder when which of the ball goes in the air comes to you. We were below par today. We have a great team. We have a balanced team. Won't say we don't have a great team because we haven't done well.
"We had some amazing players. The first four to five games didn't go our way. My personal form wasn't great. We didn't get great starts. Sometimes things don't go as you have planned.”
For the uninitiated, Smriti Mandhana has scored 149 runs in eight games at an average of 18.62. Mandhana, though, hailed youngsters Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja and Asha Shobana for their performances in the inaugural edition of the WPL. She said:
“We will come back stronger next season. We have found some amazing youngsters in Shreyanka and Kanika. They have been fearless. Was pleasing to see, as a skipper. Asha bowled very well too.”
Not exactly the way we wanted to finish our campaign but we’ll forever be thankful to the 12th Man Army for the support.
We take the learnings and come back a better side next season. 🙌
#PlayBold #SheIsBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #WPL2023 #RCBvMI https://t.co/wqAjr7vo6F
RCB finished with two wins in eight games in WPL 2023.