Smriti Mandhana Hits A 23-Ball Fifty Against England In CWG 2022 Semis; Breaks Her Own Record
Published - 06 Aug 2022, 07:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:11 AM
India opener and white-ball vice-captain Smriti Mandhana broke her own record of fastest fifty by an Indian batter in Women’s T20I during her knock against England in the first-ever women’s cricket semi-final in the history of the Commonwealth Games in the ongoing CWG 2022 in Edgbaston.
Mandhana was the face saver for the Indian team in the knockout match as she hammered the England bowling to all parts of the Edgbaston stadium after Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bat first in the crucial encounter.
India had only lost to Australia in the league stage of the Commonwealth Games 2022 and reached the semi-finals by defeating Pakistan and Barbados by a good margin. Against Australia as well, they could have won the match by failing to build on the advantage of reducing the mighty Aussies to 49/5.
Smriti Mandhana Makes A T20I Fifty In 23 Balls, Breaks Her Own Record For Fastest Fifty By An Indian Batter
Meanwhile, speaking of the Indian innings, Smriti Mandhana began smashing the England bowlers to every corner of the ground and despite England captain Nat Sciver changing the bowlers rapidly, each of them was being hammered in the powerplay overs as India reached the fifty-run mark in just 4.3 overs.
Smriti Mandhana reached her fifty in 23 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes to her name before being eventually dismissed for 61 runs in 32 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes. After her dismissal, England clawed their way back into the game as India finished on 164/5 in 20 overs with Jemimah Rodrigues making 41*, Deepti Sharma making 22, and Harmanpreet Kaur making 20 runs.
Meanwhile, Mandhana during her amazingly aggressive knock, broke her own record to complete the fastest half-century by an Indian woman batter in T20I cricket history. Her 23-ball fifty broke her own record of 24 balls which came in a match against New Zealand in 2019.
Incidentally, Mandhana also holds the record for the third fastest T20I half-century by an Indian woman batter, when she scored a 25-ball half-century against England in 2018.
