The Hundred: Rashid Khan’s last-minute ouster from this year’s men’s The Hundred has certainly lost some of the glamour, But in the women’s section on Tuesday, Smriti Mandhana got this year’s season off to a great start at Trent Bridge, hitting a blistering 55.
Smriti’s innings helped Southern Braves to score 157, Which is the highest team score in the Women’s Hundred at this ground. Trent Rockets lost the match by 27 runs despite Nate Siever-Brunt’s blistering batting.
Salaries in the Women’s Hundred were put on hold until 2022, But the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has changed the face of short-format cricket. This year Braves have retained Smriti on a contract of around Rs 33 lakhs. But this amount is meagre as compared to his Rs 3.4 crore contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Nevertheless, the Hundred is considered one of the few prestigious competitions in women’s cricket, along with the WPL and the BBL.
Arriving in England from a disappointing tour of Bangladesh, despite only one net session, Smriti scored 55 off 36 balls, opening the batting with Danny Wyatt and Maya Busher. Starting with Wyatt, the Braves scored 45 without loss in the first 25-ball powerplay. Smriti said after the match, “I didn’t know two or three bowlers in the beginning. I only saw his videos. It took me a while to understand him and to get used to the pace of the wicket as the conditions were very different in Bangladesh.”
Smriti played the spinners very well in the middle overs keeping the momentum intact. She hit off-spinner Bryony Smith straight over the head for a six and soon brought up her half-century off 32 balls.
Smith was run out in reply and despite the presence of the likes of Siever-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur, there was no chance for the Rockets to get back in the match.
Read Also – Hrmanpreet must pay for raising her voice at the umpire’s decision
