What's so special regarding Smriti Mandhana?
Smriti Mandhana, India's opening batswoman, won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2021 on Monday. Considering India's challenging year in 2021, Mandhana's shares are up this year. Mandhana was instrumental in both of India's victories in the miniseries versus South Africa, which saw india capture just 2 of eight games at home. In the second ODI, she hit 81 not out to assist india level the series, and in the third T20I, she struck 48 not out to assist india prevail.
Mandhana scored 77 runs during the first session of the lone Test against England, which resulted in a tie. In India's lone victory in the Tour match, she hit a crucial 48. Her 14-ball 31 and 51 in the T20I series, however, were in vain as india surrendered in both games and the series 2-1. Mandhana was in fine form throughout the series versus Australia, beginning with an ODI series in which she hit 88 in the second game. She was named Player of the Match after scoring a stunning century in the lone Test (her first of her career). In the last T20I, she hit her second T20I fifty of the year, but india lost.
Mandhana smashed her debut century in the test format, making India's first-ever pink-ball Tests much more remarkable. To commence, the left-hander performed her defensive game and achieved a run-a-ball half-century while batting under the darkness with prudence. Mandhana was apprehended on 80, but was granted a respite after Ellyse Perry got out of line.