ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022: She Tries To Really Surpass Herself- WV Raman Lauds Smriti Mandhana After Her Ton Against West Indies

Former India women’s cricket team coach WV Raman has lauded opener Smriti Mandhana after she scored a match-winning century against West Indies in the ongoing ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2022 in Hamilton on March 12, 2022. Apart from her, Raman also praised ODI vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who also scored a century and added 184 runs with Mandhana for the fourth wicket.

India batted first after captain Mithali Raj won the toss. The Women in Blue posted 317/8 in 50 overs with Smriti Mandhana making 123 in 119 balls with 13 fours and 2 sixes to her name, while Harmanpreet Kaur slammed 109 in 107 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. The duo added 184 runs for the 4^th wicket. During a discussion on Star Sports, WV Raman was asked about Smriti Mandhana’s knock.

He responded: “I always felt that she tries to really surpass herself, she tries to do more than she has to but here she didn’t get into that mode. She was looking to respond, she was calm and a few boundaries first up always set the tone for her and makes her calm. We have seen her, if she doesn’t get boundaries initially, she might tend to play some rash shots and get out. That didn’t happen today, she carried on, it was a fabulous innings.”

Other main contributors were opener Yastika Bhatia with 31 runs, adding 49 in 6.3 overs for the first wicket with Mandhana.

Full Marks To Smriti Mandhana And Harmanpreet Kaur, The Way They Paced The Innings: WV Raman

WV Raman also spoke about the partnership between the two senior India batters Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, saying that it was long overdue that these two got together and stitched a long partnership for the benefit of the team.

“It was long overdue, these two contributing in a big way. It was round the corner, everybody got that feeling and the way they played together, using their feet well, working the ball around and they were very decisive. They realized that in the mid overs they are going to milk the bowling, get a lot of singles and of course, the West Indies bowlers were making a lot of mistakes in terms of providing chances on the field and also providing a lot of opportunities to score boundaries,” Raman said.

Furthermore, the former India opener Raman lauded them for pacing their innings and putting pressure on the West Indies bowlers.

He observed: “It was because of the pressure these two put on the West Indies bowlers. They have been defending, this is the first time they have bowled first and against two free-stroking batters, which means the pressure was on them and full marks to Smriti and Harmanpreet Kaur, the way they paced the innings and stitched the partnership.”

India will next play defending champions England on March 16 in Mount Maunganui.

Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: We Both Contributed Equally – Smriti Mandhana Shares Her Player Of The Match Award With Centurion Harmanpreet Kaur