Smriti Mandhana notched up her maiden Test ton against Australian women and in the process broke through many records in the Pink-Ball Test. India were put to bat by Australia after winning the toss and Mandhana has ensured that they take full advantage of it. She became the first Indian cricketer to score a century in a pink-ball Test. This is her maiden Test ton in just her fourth Test and she became the first Indian women cricketer to hit a century on Australian soil.
Smriti Mandhana first added a 96-run opening stand with Shafali Verma to give India a good start. Bad light then forced play to be stopped on the first day. They have started the second day on a positive note as well. Mandhana is currently just past her ton and adding a partnership that is inching closer to 100 with Punam Raut.
Smriti Mandhana Joins Elite List
New Zealand: Shantha Rangaswamy (1977)
India: Sandhya Agarwal (1984)
England: Shubhangi Kulkarni (1986)
Australia: Smriti Mandhana (2021)
Meanwhile, soon after Smriti Mandhana reached the three-figure mark, Twitter showered praise on the batter.
Here are some of the reactions:
Just utterly delightful from Smriti Mandhana. pic.twitter.com/mjugGVrk8I
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) October 1, 2021
16 boundaries in the first 16 overs of a test match!! @mandhana_smriti and @TheShafaliVerma were on fire! Wish I could have seen it. Highlights anywhere?
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 30, 2021
💯 for @mandhana_smriti! 👏 👏
Maiden Test ton for the #TeamIndia left-hander. 👍 👍
What a fantastic knock this has been! 🙌 🙌 #AUSvIND
Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/seh1NVa8gu pic.twitter.com/2SSnLRg789
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 1, 2021
Smriti Mandhana is now the first ever visiting player outside England to score a Women's Test hundred in Australia.#AUSvIND
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) October 1, 2021
Finally a Test 💯! Brilliant @mandhana_smriti
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) October 1, 2021
Smriti Mandhana – first Indian women cricketer to score a Pink Ball Test ton. What a knock, what a class. pic.twitter.com/9K5Y4bXExB
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 1, 2021
A test hundred on Australian soil from @mandhana_smriti. Goosebumps. pic.twitter.com/u7tgfJSWVp
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 1, 2021
The Goddess of the offside.
Congratulations on your maiden test hundred @mandhana_smriti. First of many. Well played 👏🏻 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/nS6am012nL— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 1, 2021
Historic moment in Indian Women's cricket – Smriti Mandhana becomes first Indian Women to score a Test hundred in Australian soil.pic.twitter.com/HkJxFYTUHO
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 1, 2021
India lost the three-match ODI series 2-1. They lost the first two games and won the third ODI heading into the pink-ball Test. It is a momentous occasion for every player in the team playing this game.
Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out with a thumb injury which is why h did not play the ODIs as well. Meanwhile, Mithali spoke about capitalising on the first session of the opening day of the Test match.
“I think the first session we had with the pink ball was yesterday. Yes, everybody had a different experience because we are not used to the pink ball, it does move around quite a bit. I think that is the pretty much first impression we got with the pink ball,” said Mithali during a virtual press conference.
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