The Indian women’s team lost the third and final ODI by 43 runs against Australia in New Delhi on Saturday, conceding the series 1–2. However, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s brilliance with the bat was impossible to overlook. The elegant left-hander kept India in contention during their mammoth chase of 413, at one point giving Australia a serious scare as she struck the fastest ODI century by any Indian (male or female). She broke Virat Kohli’s record by reaching her hundred in just 50 deliveries, as her sublime stroke play and ferocious power-hitting led to multiple records tumbling.
Despite India’s spirited fight till the end, the match and series slipped away. For Mandhana, however, the series against Australia was less about the result and more about testing combinations and identifying weaknesses ahead of the all-important home World Cup.
India were on the verge of scripting history by winning a maiden bilateral series win over Australia, after levelling the three-match contest. But once Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur were dismissed, the chase grew increasingly difficult. Deepti Sharma showed promise with a gritty 72, but regular wickets meant India eventually fell short by 43 runs.
“This series for us was about getting a lot of right combinations and things. Australia is a great opposition to test ourselves in terms of where we are lacking,” Mandhana said at the post-match conference.
“So I wouldn’t say that we will think of this series as a confidence booster or something which didn’t really work, that the confidence will go low. But it was a good series in terms of understanding our strengths and understanding where we are lacking.”
Fielding, however, remained a glaring concern. After displaying sharp work in England earlier this year, India were sloppy against Australia, dropping more than 12 catches across the three games. Mandhana acknowledged the inconsistency.
“I mean for sure there is a lot of difference in the fielding. Fielding part is one thing which I mean as a team we are on a rise but we also feel that some days there are days where we look like a different fielding side than the others.
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“We need to find the consistency in the team in terms of fielding as a unit together and not individual brilliance, so that’s one thing which we thought that we have to address before the World Cup,” she added.
Mandhana herself enjoyed a prolific series, finishing as the top scorer with two centuries and a fifty. She shouldered much of India’s batting responsibility, but dismissed the notion of over-reliance on her.
“Not really,” she said when asked if she felt the pressure of carrying the batting. “Everyone in this squad is a match-winner, not just the XI but all 15. At any point, anyone can step up.
“If you look at the last 12 months, we’ve posted 300-plus totals even when I got out early. That shows there is no dependence on one player. Pratika, Harleen, Jemimah, Harman — everyone has scored hundreds in the last year.” On Saturday, Mandhana produced a dazzling 125 off 63 balls, laced with 17 fours and five sixes, to keep India in the hunt for a record 413-run chase.
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“I don’t know if it’s (my) best knock because when you chase 413 you don’t have any other gear to play. In terms of hitting sixes maybe yes.
“But I wouldn’t rate it best. Whenever you score a hundred and team wins I mean that becomes a memorable knock.”
Mandhana refused to reveal the combination India will go with at the World Cup but conceded that the hosts will be flexible and make calls depending on the conditions “We wouldn’t really want to reveal what the combination is going to be because the World Cup is still 8-10 days away. But I wouldn’t say that we will have one particular combination, it would also depend a lot on the wicket.”
With PTI inputs
