India Women’s team won the series ODI decider against New Zealand Women. The series was equally poised 1-1 before coming to the third match. The hosts won the first game at the Narendra Modi Stadium, with the White Ferns making a comeback in the 2nd game. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side in the final game came all guns blazing. After being elected to bat first the Kiwis were bowled out for 232.
Coming out to chase the Women in Blue had a decent start losing out opener Shafali Verma early. The small partnership between Yastika Bhatia and Smriti Mandhana gave the momentum for the chase. The latter took the initiative to chase down the total. She scored a brilliant century in the chase and anchored the inning along with captain Kaur to seal the series. She registered her name in the record books with her 8th ODI century.
The outstanding opener set the tone for India’s 233-run chase, which the hosts won by six wickets. Mandhana surpassed legend Mithali Raj to become the Indian women’s cricketer with the most ODI century. Before the match, Mandhana and her former captain Mithali were knotted at 7, but the left-handed batter responded to the situation, achieving the major feat while also helping India win the series.
Smriti Mandhana is the best ODI better
Is Smriti Mandhana the best batter in women’s cricket? Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana is still far behind in the overall count, with Meg Lanning leading the way with 15 centuries. However, she can achieve the milestone with Lanning already retired from international cricket. Smriti Mandhana still has a lot of cricket left in her career and she might turn out to be the best opener in world cricket if she continues to showcase the consistency.
Smriti Mandhana has been in amazing form in ODIs this year, scoring three hundred in seven matches and still going strong. Despite poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, she has made an incredible comeback in the ODI series and will look to continue her red-hot form in the 50-over format for India. She can guide India to their first ODI World Cup next year in India.
