Bengaluru, June 16 (IANS) After smashing a fantastic 117 against South Africa in the ODI series opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said more than her century, she was happy over lifting the side to a total over 260.

Smriti smashed 117 off 127 balls, her sixth century in the format, to take India to 265/8 on a slightly sluggish Bengaluru pitch. Her knock, also her first ton in India, was laced with 12 fours and a six. This is just the second time Smriti scored a century against South Africa, with the first instance coming in 2018 when she hit 135 at Kimberley.

“I knew I hadn’t scored a century in India, but that didn’t come in my mind when I was batting. More than the hundred, happy we got to 260+. If we stick to our plans, we should be able to do well,” said Smriti to broadcasters in the mid-innings break.

India were reduced to 99/5 at one stage after electing to bat first. But Smriti’s gritty and composed century, along with supporting knocks from Deepti Sharma (37) and Pooja Vastrakar (31) helped India get a great total on board.

“It was a little two-paced wicket. It wasn’t a bad wicket. I think the odd ball was keeping low, the odd ball was rising. Was important to play according to the merit. Deepti and I kept telling each other to take it till the 35th over in singles and twos. Five or six runs per over was on because they had spread the field,” she added.

Smriti also revealed about the preparation undertaken to play ODIs after last playing the format in January through a home series against Australia. “Playing ODI cricket after a long time, in the nets, it was hard to keep my shots under control. After playing T20 cricket like we have for the last 5-6 months, it’s hard to control your shots. Last 7-8 days, the focus has been to keep the ball on the ground. We had a really good batting camp in Mumbai.”

–IANS

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Bengaluru, June 16 (IANS) Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana slammed a fantastic 117 off 121 balls, her sixth century in ODIs, as India posted 265/8 against South Africa in the series opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

On a slightly sluggish pitch which offered variable bounce, seam movement and spin, India were reduced to 99/5 at one stage after electing to bat first. But Smriti stood tall, played her shots all over the park and even kept cramps at bay to keep India’s innings together with utmost discipline, control and remarkable composure.

In the process of bailing India out of trouble, Smriti brought up her first ODI century at home, laced with 12 fours and a six, to enthrall an enthusiastic Sunday crowd. She was also well-supported by knocks from Deepti Sharma (37) and Pooja Vastrakar (31) as India crossed 250-mark.

For South Africa, pacer Ayabonga Khaka took 3-47 while Masabata Klass starred with 2-51 in a bowling attack which didn’t have Marizanne Kapp, who is playing as a specialist batter in the game due to workload management following a minor back injury.

Smriti started off the proceedings with back-to-back beautiful drives off Masabata, but saw Shafali Verma being lured into an expansive drive off Ayabonga and nicked behind to a diving Sinalo Jafta. Dayalan Hemalatha’s promotion to number three didn’t last long as she miscued to mid-off against Nonkululeko Mlaba.

Though Smriti nailed her pulls off debutante Annerie Dercksen, India continued to lose wickets as captain Harmanpreet Kaur chipped to extra cover and give the seamer her maiden international wicket. It was followed by a returning Jemimah Rodrigues slog-sweeping to mid-wicket off Nondumiso Shangase and Richa Ghosh nicking behind off Ayabonga.

Smriti got a good applause from the crowd when she reached her fifty in 61 balls and brought up the fifty of her partnership with Deepti through a well-timed pull going for four. Deepti began nailing her sweeps off Nondumiso from the other end, followed by Smriti lofting and sweeping her for boundaries to keep India in the hunt for posting a competitive total.

But against the run of play, Deepti chopped on to her stumps off Ayabonga. Smriti, though, was undeterred, swiping and lofting to get a four and six off Masabata, before reaching the three-figure mark in 116 balls with a gentle flick going for a single.

She hit two more boundaries off Ayabonga, before holing out to deep square leg off a slower ball from Masabata, and fall for 117, with the crowd giving her a standing ovation on scoring her seventh ton in women’s international cricket.

Apart from being the second India women’s batter to cross the landmark of 7000 international runs, Smriti also overtook Mithali Raj’s 109 against West Indies in 2011 to claim the new record for the highest ODI score by an Indian batter in women’s ODIs.

Pooja smashed three boundaries in her unbeaten knock and along with debutante Asha Sobhana hitting a four, she ensured India posted a fairly good total and challenge South Africa’s batters in chasing it down.

Brief Scores: India 265/8 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 117, Deepti Sharma 37; Ayabonga Khaka 3-47, Masabata Klass 2-51) against South Africa

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has voiced his support for maintaining India’s opening batting pair of Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma in the Super Eight stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Despite their lacklustre start in the tournament, Jaffer believes that the experienced duo will regain their form in the Super 8 fixtures, starting with their crucial match against Afghanistan in Barbados on June 20.

Jaffer’s remarks come at a time when Kohli and Rohit have struggled to find their footing in the tournament. Kohli, who entered the World Cup riding high on his scintillating form in the IPL 2024, has managed only five runs across three innings. His highest score was a mere four runs against Pakistan. Similarly, Rohit has amassed just 68 runs in his three outings, with a single notable knock of 52 against Ireland.

Speaking to Star Sports, Jaffer underscored the importance of sticking with the seasoned pair despite their recent struggles. “Now that you are stuck with both of them, I don’t think it’s gonna make sense because you’re gonna split both of them up,” Jaffer explained.

“You might probably think of playing Yashasvi Jaiswal. That’s probably what you’re thinking, and then Rishabh Pant, who has done so well at number three, he has to bat even lower down the order, probably at number four. Then where does Suryakumar Yadav bat? So it’s going to mess up the whole batting order, so I think they’ll probably stick with that.”

Jaffer emphasised that reshuffling the batting order could lead to further complications, disrupting the roles of key players like Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. Pant, who has been effective at number three, and Yadav, who thrives higher up the order, could find their contributions hampered by such changes.

“Rishabh has done well at number three. Suryakumar, you don’t want to bat him any lower than that, so I think they’ll stick with that. But yeah, they have to go really hard in the powerplay. We’ve seen when Australia have done that against England, they were so ahead in the powerplay, getting that 74 runs. That’s where you can make a mark. So Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the way they are batting, you could see that happen in the powerplay in West Indies.”

India’s qualification to the Super Eight was sealed with a convincing seven-wicket win against co-hosts USA. As they prepare to face an in-form Afghanistan in their first match in the Caribbean, Men in Blue’s confidence in Kohli and Sharma’s ability to bounce back will be a crucial factor in their strategy.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, June 16 (IANS) In a significant milestone, India opener Smriti Mandhana crossed the 7000-run mark in international cricket during the first ODI against South Africa at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Mandhana’s achievement placed her in elite company, making her the second Indian woman to surpass 7000 runs including all formats. She followed in the footsteps of former captain Mithali Raj, who amassed a remarkable 10,868 runs in her illustrious career.

Close on Mandhana’s heels is current captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has accumulated 6,870 runs, underscoring the strength and depth of India’s batting lineup.

Mandhana played a knock of 117 runs off 127 balls including 12 fours and a six to post her first ODI hundred on home soil and second against South Africa. During her sixth ODI century, she also build crucial partnerships with Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vatrakar to take India over 200-run mark.

Meanwhile, Deepti also completed 2000 ODI runs during her 37-run knock in 200th international match.

Earlier, Harmanpreet won the toss and opted to bat first in the opening match of the three-game ODI series.

–IANS

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North Sound (Antigua), June 16 (IANS) After England secured a 41-run win over Namibia in a truncated affair and seeing Australia beat Scotland to enter the Super Eight stage, wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow hit back at the critics for questioning his place in the side, saying there’s a reason behind him playing international cricket for a long time.

Under pressure due to scoring just 64 runs in his last four T20Is, Bairstow smashed 31 off 18 balls while sharing a 56-run stand with Harry Brook for the third wicket as England made 122/5 in their ten overs, which was enough for the defending champions to get an important win over Namibia.

“Look, people are allowed to have opinions, and yeah, look, it’s part and parcel of it. It’s not the first time that people have had a go at me, is it? So yeah, you take it on the chin, and you crack on.

“But look, at the end of the day, there’s a reason why I’ve played for so long, and there’s a reason why I’m in the team. So maybe sometimes the opinions and the views that come through certain people’s eyes are incorrect and maybe need to look at themselves,” said Bairstow in the post-match press conference.

Bairstow is still one of the few players who plays all three formats of international cricket and he’s admitted it’s a tough juggling act for him this year, but is still proud of himself to maintain that balance.

“I’d like to be keeping wicket and batting in the Tests. That’s exactly what I’ve wanted to do. I haven’t spent much time thinking about it. The games have been coming thick and fast. I think I’ve had about five nights at home since January 11th, when we left.

“So, it’s something that you just keep playing, you keep trying to learn, you keep enjoying the experiences and the challenges that get put in front of you, and I think that that’s the important bit.

“When you are on tour and when you’re fortunate enough to play in the different formats and the different countries that you have around the world, the willingness and the enjoyment and the challenges you’ve got to accept and sometimes overcome them and look at times it does get difficult.

“At times, it is hard to adapt from format to format, and it does take a little bit of change, but look, it’s something that I’ve done for all my career, and I wouldn’t change anything of it to be quite honest with you because to be fortunate enough to play in all three formats for England it’s something that I’m very, very proud of,” he elaborated.

Asked if he’s okay with being moved up and down the batting order as per demands of the situation, Bairstow remarked, “Look I’m not sure that’s going to be a permanent thing I don’t know what’s going on with that. Here, that was the decision that was made.

“You go out there and you perform in the positions that you’re asked to do so. That partnership in the middle there, like I said, after losing two early on was an imperative partnership and something that, look, if Harry and I can bat for a period of time through the middle, there’s going to be some decent scores.”

–IANS

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