• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Had To Be Hard On Myself Smriti Mandhana Recalls Process Behind 100 After Long Slump

'Had To Be Hard On Myself,' Smriti Mandhana Recalls Process Behind 100 After Long Slump


Smriti Mandhana scored a ton against New Zealand [Source: @JayShah/X]Smriti Mandhana scored a ton against New Zealand [Source: @JayShah/X]

Smriti Mandhana snapped out of her lean patch to slam a gritty hundred in the third ODI against New Zealand Women in Ahmedabad. Mandhana set the tone for India's successful chase and recalled how, due to repeated failures, she went hard on herself to avoid mistakes in the third game.

India Women team saw the face of failure in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup courtesy to underperforming seniors, including Smriti Mandhana. Her failures extended in the ODI series against New Zealand Women as she was dismissed for five runs and a two-ball duck in the first two games.

Mandhana leads India Women to series victory

With the pressure piling, Smriti Mandhana rose through the ashes to slam a sublime 100 off 122 balls, including ten boundaries, in the third ODI. India Women were 16/1 in 233-run chase, and Smriti anchored the recovery with her composed knock.

Following India's six-wicket victory, Mandhana expressed relief to finally be able to contribute after prolonged slump. She admitted that past 1.5 months were difficult but she trusted the process and went extra hard on herself to break out.

"It has been a tough 1 and a half months for this team. The first two games didn’t go my way, so I was really happy I could get a score today. It was more about controlling my shots, you don’t bat the same way everyday. You’re in the best frame some days and you’re not other days. I had to be a little hard on myself early on and wait for the first 10 overs to go before taking the game on. For me, what works is the harder way,” she said.

Mandhana added that her approach is always team-oriented. She let them down recently by getting dismissed early. But the third ODI offered her a chance at redemption, and she was happy to convert to the same.

“Need to do it for the team first. Getting out early means I’ve let the team down and that thought doesn’t let me sleep well. As a cricketer you are going to get highs and lows, you need to keep the routine the same."

Smriti Mandhana surpasses Mithali Raj

The century against New Zealand Women in the third ODI happened to be Smriti Mandhana's 8th ton in ODI career. With that, she went past Mithali Raj to become the highest century-scorer in ODI history for India Women. Both players were tied for the record previously with 7 hundreds each. Harmanpreet Kaur is third in the list with six tons followed by Punam Raut with three centuries.