A file image of Smriti Mandhana during a press conference.
Indian women's national cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana smashed the fastest half-century by an Indian as she scored a blistering 52 runs off 25 balls. The left-handed batswoman smashed eight 4's and two 6's in her innings where she led the Women in Blue to score a mammoth score of 198/4 in the first innings of the T20I match against England in the Tri-Nation T20I series.
India who lost the opener against Australia bounced back and have scored their highest total in T20Is and the second highest in Women's T20Is as well. Mandhana scored the fastest fifty by Indian women and has been performing brilliantly this year. It is an opportunity for the English women to create history as well as they chase down a mammoth score in the Indian's backyard.
Mandhana betters her previous record set by her against Australia in the opener and her knock is the third fastest in the shortest format of the game.
Mandhana and Mithali Raj opened for India and they started at a blistering pace as the duo blazed to a 100-run opening start and it was Mandhana's aggressive batting which helped India reach a mammoth target of 198 against England.
Mithali had also scored her half-century off 43 balls. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur contributed with her breezy knock of 30 where as Pooja Vastrakar had also assisted 22 runs for India to project a formidable score.
