[WATCH]- Smriti Mandhana, With A Kohli-Like Action, Takes Her First ODI Wicket Against South Africa

After becoming the first Indian to score consecutive centuries in Women’s ODIs against South Africa on Wednesday, Smriti Mandhana further enhanced her remarkable day by taking her first ODI wicket in her 83rd match by dismissing Sune Luus.

Mandhana bowled in the 15th over, likely as Harmanpreet Kaur tested her on a spin-friendly pitch. On her second ball, she delivered it wide outside off with a wrong-footed action reminiscent of Virat Kohli. Luus attempted to play at it but got a thin top edge due to the extra bounce, which wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh easily caught.

You can watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra/status/1803425524288753780?s=46

https://twitter.com/criccrazyjohns/status/1803421001180652031?s=46

As the Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted in cheers, the parallels with Kohli became evident.

Both shared the same bowling action, wore the number 18 jersey, and enjoyed immense support from Bengaluru fans. Additionally, Kohli’s last international wicket also came from a wide ball, although down the leg side, at the same venue against the Netherlands’ Scott Edwards during the 2023 World Cup.

Smriti Mandhana set several records during the first innings

Perhaps Harmanpreet Kaur sensed it was simply Mandhana’s day. In the first innings, Mandhana took 17 balls to score her first run as the South African pacers generated significant seam movement during the powerplay. However, once she settled in, she hit a series of boundaries, scoring 136 off 120 balls, helping India reach 325/3.

She not only became the first Indian to score consecutive centuries in WODIs but also matched Mithali Raj’s record of seven WODI centuries for India. Additionally, this was Mandhana’s highest score in the format.

“The wicket wasn’t playing the way it was in the first match so had to change a few things. I am not used to being 0 (18) but we had to play according to the situation as the pitch had a bit of grass on it,” Mandhana said after the innings.

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