India's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is having a great time on the field in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. She scored a century in the series opener and then again crossed the 100-run mark in the second game to become the first Indian cricketer in Women's cricket to score a ton in successive ODI innings. Moreover, she came on to bowl for the first time in her international career and struck off the very second ball much to the delight of the crowd.
Not many expected Smriti to bowl with India dominating the proceedings but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur surprised everyone by introducing her into the attack in the 15th over of the innings. The crowd went berserk as they saw Mandhana bowling and she dismissed Sune Luus on the second ball itself.
It was a delivery outside the off and was going away from the batter but the batter went to play the cut only for the ball to take the edge of her bat. Wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh didn't make any mistake and took the catch. As soon as she got the wicket, Smriti Mandhana went off on a celebratory spree with Indian players cock-a-hoop and the crowd went berserk as well.
Here's the video:
As far as the match is concerned, Team India did well to post a massive total of 325 runs on the board after losing the toss. Smriti Mandhana register her highest score in ODI cricket (136) while skipper Kaur too scored a century off 87 deliveries. A 171-run partnership between the duo made sure India recovered from a relatively slow start. 325 is also the highest total for India at home while several other records were also broken during the carnage at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Having lost the series opener at the same venue, South Africa will have to win this game to take the series into the decider. However, chasing 326 won't be an easy task against a strong Indian bowling attack.
