Smriti Mandhana has been in imperious form for India in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup. She began with a 90 in the opening game against England, and followed it up with an unbeaten hundred against West Indies on Thursday.
The 20-year-old was injured prior to the World Cup, but has made a sensational return. “It is not over yet but I’m really happy that I’ve made a good comeback after the injury. The first match, back in the practice match against England, I was really off-touch and I was very nervous,” Indian Express quoted Mandhana as saying in an ICC report.
“After that I scored 82 not out against the West Indies in a practice match so that gave me confidence that my batting was not lost. I can bat!
“It was really tough coming out of the injury but I’m really happy I’ve done enough in two matches for India and hopefully I can continue that form. I was determined to do well to show that they made the correct decision,” added Mandhana.
Mandhana says she likes the English conditions. “I love the conditions here, I love playing in cold weather. It makes me happy inside. They prepare good pitches. It’s not that I don’t like playing in India, but I like playing here more. I just concentrate on my game, there’s no TV and nothing to distract you so that helps me concentrate on cricket. While I was injured I made sure that I worked on my weaknesses. Many people have seen my game so I worked on that.
“I tried not to play too many shots because I had a habit of playing too many shots after getting set. That was the thing I worked on in the last two or three months,” she added.
--By A Cricket Correspondent