India’s left-handed opening batter Smriti Mandhana scored a second successive century in the Second ODI of the three-match ODI series against South Africa being played in Bengaluru. The Indian vice-captain played a magnificent inning of 136 runs under testing conditions on a challenging wicket while batting first. She was supported by captain Harmanpreet Kaur who also scored a quick-fire century as India crossed the 300-run mark to post 326 runs on the board against a lethal South African bowling lineup.
The Start
This was Mandhana’s second consecutive century as the left-hander kicked off the three-match ODI series against South Africa by scoring a hard-fought century under severe heat in the First ODI where he got support in the form of two Indian allrounders Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vatsrakar both of whom played their part to perfection as India crossed the 250 run mark on a tricky wicket as India registered a comfortable win to take an early lead in the series which will be followed by a Test match and three T20Is scheduled to played in Chennai.
The Performance
With her century in the Second ODI against South Africa, Smriti Mandhana broke and equaled a few records. Let’s discuss them in detail.
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Most Hundreds by an Indian batter in ODI:7
Smriti Mandhana equaled former Indian captain Mithali Raj’s record of batters with the most centuries for India in ODI cricket. Interestingly despite equaling Mithali Raj’s record for scoring the most centuries by an Indian batter Smriti Mandhana takes the top spot in the list as the left-hander has taken less than 90 innings to score seven centuries whereas Mithali took more than 200 innings as a result she grabs the second spot with current Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur taking the third place.
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Only Indian Batter To Score Consecutive ODI Hundreds against South Africa: 2
The Indian vice-captain became the first Indian batter to score two consecutive centuries against South Africa in ODI cricket. She began the three-match ODI series against South Africa with a crafty century which helped India register a comprehensive win and earn crucial ICC ODI Championship points necessary to ensure direct qualification for the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. Smriti followed it up with another handy century in the next match against South Africa.