Smriti Mandhana's 3 fun off-field moments
Smriti Mandhana is one of the most successful players in women's cricket history. The Indian women's cricket team is celebrating her 27th birthday today (July 18). She has been the backbone of the Indian batting lineup for quite some time now.
Looking at her numbers in international matches for India, Mandhana has scored 325 runs in seven Test innings at an average of 46.42. She hit a memorable century in an away Test match against Australia, while she has scored five centuries for the Women in Blue in the ODI format.
Mandhana has been a match-winner for the country in the shortest format of the game as well. The left-handed batter has scored 2,854 runs in 115 innings at a strike rate of 123.49. She is yet to touch the triple-figure mark in the T20I arena, but the Mumbai-born has 22 half-centuries to her credit.
Besides, Smriti Mandhana fetched a massive deal worth ₹3.4 crore from the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the inaugural Women's Premier League auction. She even captained RCB, helping them win two of their eight matches in the league stage.
It goes without saying that Mandhana is one of the best players to have represented India at the international level. While she has achieved a lot on the field, she has a fun nature outside the cricket world.
On her birthday today, we will look back at the three fun moments, involving Smriti Mandhana.
#1 Smriti Mandhana appears on Chahal TV
Indian men's cricket team's leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has a talk show named Chahal TV, where he candidly interacts with his teammates after the match. During India's tour of New Zealand in 2019, the women's team was also in the same country. At that time, Smriti Mandhana appeared on Chahal TV.
The BCCI has deleted the episode from their website now, but a clip on YouTube shows how Mandhana trolled Chahal when he asked her about some batting tips. Mandhana simply told him that he should look at the ball while playing.
Chahal jokingly replied he knew that he should look at the ball and added he does not look at the crowd while playing. You can watch the interaction in the above video.
#2 Smriti Mandhana's banter with Harmanpreet Kaur
In a video shared by the Female Cricket channel on YouTube, Indian women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about batting with Mandhana in the middle. Kaur said that she goes into a serious zone when she bats and is fully focused on her game.
However, whenever Kaur gets serious, Mandhana comes to her and tells her to laugh.
"I think about who will be the next bowler, and where should I hit the ball. She comes and tells 'Haso Na' (Please smile)."
#3 Smriti Mandhana features in 'Tapori' style reel with Jemimah Rodrigues and Radha Yadav
In May 2022, Mandhana decided to feature in a reel with Jemimah Rodrigues and Radha Yadav during an off day in the Women's T20 Challenge. They created a reel based on a scene from the movie 'Munna Bhai MBBS'.
Rodrigues played the role of Munnabhai, which was portrayed by Sanjay Dutt in the film. Mandhana appeared on the video, playing the role of a beautiful girl named Hema. You can watch the reel above.