When Smriti Mandhana scored a double century in a limited over match

Smriti Mandhana is one of the most followed Indian cricketers on and off the field. The left-handed opener has a pretty huge fan base, thanks to her stellar performances in the field. Known for her aggressive approach at the top of the order Smriti is currently ranked world number 4 in ODIs and world number 7 in the T20Is ICC batting rankings. Over the years, she has also accumulated a combined total of 3,822 runs for India since her debut.

All of her other achievements aside, did you know that Smriti Mandhana once scored a double century in a limited overs game?

Yes, you read that right. Back in 2013, a seventeen year old Smriti Mandhana hammered a double century for Maharashtra in a One Day match against Gujarat during the West Zone Women’s Under-19 One Day Tournament.

The southpaw decimated a toothless Gujarat bowling unit to smash an unbeaten 224 off just 150 deliveries and powered Maharashtra to 372 in their 50 overs. The match was even sweeter for Smriti as they bundled out Gujarat for a partly 32 to win the match by a margin of 340 runs.

What was more interesting is the fact that the young Smriti scored this double century with a bat gifted to her by the former India captain Rahul Dravid.

“I have been scoring well since the time I have started playing with Dravid sir’s bat. My brother met him during his visit to Bangalore and told him about my passion for cricket. Dravid sir gifted his practice bat to me and since then I have been playing with it,” an elated Smriti had said back then.

She reached her double century off just 138 balls and hit a total of 32 boundaries during her knock. This superlative innings also made Smriti the first ever Indian woman to hit a double century in a limited overs game. Later in 2017, the current India star, Jemimah Rodrigues, equaled Smriti’s record as she also hit a double century in a limited overs game for Mumbai in an under-19 game against Saurashtra.

The now best friends and the lynchpins of the Indian batting unit, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, remain the only two Indian women to have scored a double century in a limited overs match.

Also read: Women’s IPL 2020: Why are there no Australian player this season?