Know all about Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian women’s national team and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL. She is a left-handed opening batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. She is currently regarded as one of the best batters in women’s cricket and holds several coveted records to her name. She is also the youngest captain of the Indian cricket team - men’s or women’s. She was born in Mumbai on July 18, 1996, but grew up in Sangli, Maharashtra. She was the first player to be sold in the WPL auction for a whopping sum of Rs 3.4 crore.

Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana started playing cricket at a very young age, inspired by her brother Shravan who also played cricket. She joined a cricket academy in Sangli when she was six years old and practiced with boys. She also played with a tennis ball in her backyard with her father and brother. She made her debut for the Maharashtra under-15 team when she was nine years old and for the under-19 team when she was 11 years old. She made her international debut in 2013, when she was 16 years old, in an ODI against Bangladesh. She made her Test debut in 2014, against England, and scored a half-century in the second innings to help India win the match. She has since become one of the most prolific and consistent batters in the world.

Smriti Mandhana has many impressive records in her cricketing career. Here are some of them:

• She became the first Indian woman cricketer to achieve a double ton in a One Day game, when she smashed 224 off just 150 balls in the West Zone under-19 tournament in 20131.
• She became the first Indian woman to score a century in the Women's Big Bash League, when she hit 102 off 61 balls for Brisbane Heat against Hobart Hurricanes in 2016.
• She became the first Indian woman to score a century in the Kia Super League, when she scored 102 off 61 balls for Western Storm against Lancashire Thunder in 2018.
• She became the first Indian woman to score a century in a Women's T20 International, when she scored 103 off 51 balls against New Zealand in 2019.
• She became the first Indian woman to score 1,000 runs in T20Is, when she reached the milestone in 2019.
• She became the first Indian woman to win the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2018. She also won the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year award in the same year.
• She became the first Indian woman to be sold for Rs 3.4 crore in the WPL auction, when she was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2023.