IND vs NZ: Smriti Mandhana returns to form with record-breaking century, but how long can the rope be for Shafali Verma? | Cricket News
After two below-par batting performances in Ahmedabad, all eyes were on India’s top order in the series decider against New Zealand. Especially the openers, who were yet to fire. On Tuesday, one of them showed that form is temporary. But for the other, there will be questions on how long the rope can get.
Smriti Mandhana was back to somewhere close to her ODI best as she anchored India’s run-chase but for her opening partner Shafali Verma, it was yet another low score. Smriti’s 100 off 122 balls, in tandem with a fine 59* Harmanpreet Kaur, saw India beat New Zealand six wickets in the third and final ODI to clinch the series 2-1.
Smriti breaks Mithali’s record
It was a statical anomaly that before 2024, Smriti hadn’t scored an international century on home soil. She went about correcting that in style in Bengaluru when South Africa visited earlier this year, with scores of 117 and 136 in back-to-back matches (she finished the series with a 90 as well). But that form deserted her at the T20 World Cup for the most part and she didn’t begin the series against New Zealand on a great note either. Now, she has three home tons to her name.
Chasing a very achievable 233, and with the series on the line, Smriti buckled down. She didn’t go fishing when New Zealand’s pacers targeted that area again, instead preferring to leave balls outside the off stump or tap them along the ground. She did get a reprieve at the end of the 4th over when a review wasn’t taken for LBW – with bat and pad close to each other – but apart from that it was a chanceless knock.
With the required rate never getting out of hand, she could afford to ease into the innings. Her first four of the night came in the 9th over and at the end of the first powerplay she was on 19 off 35 balls. But from there she took control, without ever entering top gear. While her half-century came up with her fourth four of the night off 73 balls, her second 50 of the night would be at more than run-a-ball as she finished with 10 fours.
“The first two matches didn’t go my way, where I got out in single-digit scores,” Smriti said. “Today it was more about controlling my shots. There were a few balls in the first 6-7 overs which were generally my boundary balls, but I had to be a little hard on myself and tell myself to let them go, wait for the first 10 overs to finish, and then take the game forward.”
With her 8th ton, Smriti now has the most centuries an Indian batter in women’s ODIs, going past Mithali Raj’s tally of 7.
Shafali’s lean ODI run
If Smriti has had a career-best year in ODIs, her opening partner has been on the other end of the spectrum. The last time Shafali scored a half-century was on 4 July, 2022. It’s been 12 innings without a 50-plus score. After starting her knock with a couple of promising straight-bat shots, Shafali fell to a tame glance down the leg side to a ball that was well outside the line of stumps. While New Zealand wanted to review for caught behind, she had already started to walk back to the dressing room.
She might still be only 20 years old, but Shafali has been around the international circuit long enough for India to expect better returns from her. In 29 ODI innings, she averages 23.00 with a strike rate of 83.20. She has faced more than 50 balls only five times in this format.
At home, the reading gets worse. In India, she has batted in 7 innings for a total of 109 runs, a highest score of 33 at an average of 15.57 and a strike rate of 80.14.
With less than a year to go for an ODI World Cup in home conditions, India have a call to take, as her early promise hasn’t quite resulted in consency.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 232 all out in 49.5 overs (Brooke Halliday 86; Deepti Sharma 3/39) lost to India 236/4 in 44.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 100, Harmanpreet Kaur 59*, Hannah Rowe 2/47) six wickets.
