Rising star Smriti Mandhana of India recently spoke out and explained why she chose not to bat in India’s Women’s Asia Cup 2024 match against Nepal. Following the rest of Harmanpreet Kaur and all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar, Mandhana led the Indian women.
India’s women chose to bat first against Nepal after winning the toss. The fact that Smriti Mandhana did not open for the team was also brought to the notice of the supporters. Along with Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha started the batting.
Smriti Mandhana spoke up following the match to give her reasoning for not opening the bat against Nepal. Shafali and Hemalatha scored 122 runs for the first wicket to enable India win the match by 82 runs, suggesting that the decision was well-made.
It’s rare for an opener to play in a game without hitting. Much-needed time in the game for every other hitter. In the prior games, the middle order has not batted. It was various situations, and it’s always beneficial to have some game experience. During the post-match presentation ceremony, Mandhana stated, “The middle order did not receive enough time in the South Africa series, so good they could spend some time in the middle.”
Post-WPL, preparations got underway: Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana also discussed how the Indian team is getting ready for the forthcoming T20 World Cup. She disclosed that the planning had started immediately following the WPL 2024.
Mandhana stated, “We can’t go into a World Cup underprepared; the preparations started post-WPL, there are a lot of fine-tuning to be done, and we have to keep improving.”
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It’s also important to note that, after winning their first three games, the Indian women finished first in Group A of the Asia Cup with six points and a net run rate of +3.615.
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