SL-W vs IND-W | 1st T20 | Match Preview | SPOTLIGHT: SMRITI MANDHANA

Nirmit Mehta

Making her International debut in 2013, Smriti Mandhana has come a long way to cement her legacy in Indian Women’s cricket history. The explosive left-handed batter has been a mainstay in the Indian side for the past few years and consistently ranked among the top batters.


The 25-year-old batter completed 5,000 runs in International Cricket against Bangladesh in 2021. She was also presented with the Best Women’s Cricketer of the Year Awards in 2018 and 2021. A large chunk of her International runs has come in ODI Cricket, where she has amassed 2788 runs in 71 matches at an average of 42.24.


Smriti Mandhana has also made a mark in T20I Cricket, amassing 1971 runs in 84 matches at an average of 25.93. The opening batter has six International tons to her name, with five coming in the 50-over format.


The star batter has been a regular participant in overseas domestic leagues worldwide. She represented Brisbane Heat in Women’s Big Bash League last season and also played a part in the inaugural edition of the Hundred. Given that the southpaw is in her mid-20s, she has a long career that lies in front of her. Mandhana could perhaps assert her legacy as one of the best cricketers ever taken to the field.


With that said, India is all set to lock horns against Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series from June 23 (Thursday). All three fixtures are set to be played at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla.


Match Details:

 

Match: Sri Lanka Women vs India Women, 1st T20I

Venue: Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla

Date & Time: June 23 at 2:30 PM IST

Live Streaming: FanCode 

 

Pitch Report: It will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out. However, given a sub-continental wicket, we should expect more purchases for the spinners. The ideal first innings score should be around 140-150 runs.

 

Squads:

 

Sri Lanka Women: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Harshitha Madavi, Nilakshi de Silva, Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Udeshika Prabodhani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, Sathya Sandeepani, Kaushani Nuthyangana, Anushka Sanjeewani, Rashmi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Ama Kanchana, Hanshima Karunaratne, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Tharika Sewwandi, Malsha Shehani

 

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Sabbhineni Meghana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Radha Yadav


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