Women's World T20 2018: With experience of T20 leagues, explosive opener Smriti Mandhana could prove to be India's game changer

Ahead of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup, former India cricketer and journalist Snehal Pradhan wrote , “(Smriti) Mandhana is among the most precocious batters India has ever produced, and this is from the country that gave the world a Mithali Raj century when Raj was just 16.” Smriti Mandhana scored her first century for the Maharashtra senior team in only her second match — a blistering 125-ball 155 against Saurashtra in 2011. The left-handed opener went on to make her international debut barely 18 months later, after impressive performances in the 2012 Challenger Trophy. She was only 16. Precocious, indeed. [caption id=“attachment_5501971” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Smriti Mandhana. AFP[/caption] Since then, Mandhana has shown glimpses of why she is considered a vital part of India’s batting line-up. Half-centuries in difficult conditions in England, a century in Australia, crucial contributions in a historic T20I series win overseas, a Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) contract and the girl from Sangli seemed primed for the World Cup in England. All until the ACL injury in January. In a race against time, Mandhana practically willed herself to recover in time for the mega-event, diligently working on her rehab program, and spending extra hours in the nets once she was permitted to bat. Her return to the international arena was rather emphatic - 90 in the opening match against England, followed by an unbeaten century against Windies - but her form tapered off after that. Through the rest of India’s World Cup campaign, she managed only 26 runs in seven matches. Precocious, hard working, and disciplined, but still lacking consistency it seemed. In her early years, Mandhana was a bit of a worrier — someone who tended to over-complicate her approach to batting. Quite an intense personality, and very serious when it came to her game, she learned to relax a little after the injury. “I used to feel like not scoring runs is the worst thing in life,” she told The Guardian. “…but I started thinking: ‘No, at least I’m getting to go out on the field wearing the Indian jersey.’ Not many get to do that. I am lucky. Now, if I get runs or don’t get runs, I’m just going out there trying to enjoy my cricket.” There comes a point in every great athlete’s career when a switch just clicks. A point when a player goes from showing random flashes of brilliance, to finally realising their potential and churning out more consistent performances. For Mandhana that point was after the failures in the World Cup. Previously, someone who struggled to hit to mid-on, she found that international teams began to exploit that glitch in her technique. Australia, England and New Zealand bowled at her pads, and Mandhana was often caught at the crease, dismissed bowled or lbw a little over 27 percent of the time through her international career till the World Cup final. She spent the off season making some technical tweaks — mainly, an open stance that allowed her to access the leg-side more easily — to try and expand her game. “There were a lot of learnings from the World Cup,” she said in an interview with Cricbuzz. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me…. My father was saying that you should go into a bit of an open stance from the past two-three years… I never got such a lean patch in my life earlier, so I never thought about it seriously. Once the World Cup (failures) happened, I was open to anything. I tried the open stance for a few sessions, and I was happy with it. That has really given me results.” Mandhana has always been an aggressive batswoman. She is quick to pick length, loves to jump on the back foot, and prefers the off-side field. Her short-arm pull is one of her most productive shots, but now she has also started hitting straight. Since making the technical adjustments, the left-hander has scored 1,113 international runs in 32 matches, including 11 half-centuries. She has also hit 23 of her 32 career sixes in the last 10 months. Aside from her international exploits, she had a stellar run in her first season of the Women’s Super League in England, where she scored 421 runs for Western Storm at a staggering strike rate of 174.68, including her first T20 century and a record 18-ball half-century. Mandhana’s aggressive play at the top of the order has brought a fresh approach to the Indian T20I team. She is no longer worried about the consequences of going hard from the start, and understands the need to dominate the contest. “In a shorter format, you don’t have much time to think. You should be at your best and be aggressive all the time,” she said in an interview with New Indian Express. In previous T20 World Cups, India have struggled with their opening partnerships. In 21 matches, across five editions of the tournament, India’s opening pair averaged 25.86 at a run rate of 5.82. Only three times have they had a partnership worth more than 50 runs — two of which are century stands. In the four matches that India played in the 2016 World T20, those numbers were just as unflattering with an average of 16.50 at 6.28 runs an over, with one half-century stand. In the last ten months alone those numbers have improved significantly. In 18 completed T20I innings, the openers have scored 568 runs at an average of 31.55 at 7.43 runs per over. While they may not be earth-shattering figures, India’s steady improvement comes down to a change of approach at the top of the order. ‘Go hard or go home’, is Mandhana’s new catch phrase: one that the young Indian batswomen have adopted quite happily. Exposure to foreign T20 leagues means that Mandhana knows most of the other international stars. There is no longer an aura surrounding them. She understands their approach to the game, their strengths and weaknesses and has learnt by watching them from close quarters. She has faced the same (international) bowlers in less stressful environments and dominated them. She knows what they have up their sleeves, how they respond to pressure, and what she needs to do to get on top of them. Her experiences will certainly help the rest of the squad prepare better for what they are about to face in the Windies. Mandhana’s contributions with the bat will no doubt be of extreme importance to India’s chances through the tournament. Her attacking style of play, combined with a new-found determination to finish and “win games for India” will hold her in good stead. During India’s brilliant World Cup campaign, there was a story doing the rounds about a girl who walked into a Nike store to buy the Indian team jersey. She wanted one that had the No 18 on it. Not for Virat Kohli, but for Mandhana. Mandhana is the leader of the new generation of Indian players. As the women’s game continues to grow, the Arjuna Awardee finds herself at the forefront of these changes. Harmanpreet Kaur may be the T20I captain, but it is her deputy who is the face of the team. Much like Kohli has raised the standards of the men’s team and brought more fans to the games, Mandhana too has the opportunity to shape the way the country sees women’s cricket. She has already embedded herself in its consciousness as (dare I say it) the ’national crush’, but will be keen to trade that tag for ‘World Cup winner’.