Women’s Hundred: Smriti Mandhana shines as Southern Brave beat Trent Rockets by 27 runs in opener

Nottingham [UK], August 2 (ANI): Indian batter Smriti Mandhana’s 55 powered a Southern Brave to 157, the highest total in the women’s Hundred in Nottingham to have a perfect kick start of women’s Hundred tournament.

Despite Nat Sciver-Brunt’s best efforts, Trent Rockets lost by 27 runs.
Sciver-Brunt gave Brave a scare by slamming 18 runs off five balls from Maitlan Brown to reach 44 runs off 27 balls. She smashed another boundary from Anya Shrubsole, leaving 57 required off 24, but chipped a return catch to fall for 49 and end the game.

With only one nets session since returning from India’s visit to Bangladesh, Mandhana collaborated with Danni Wyatt and Maia Bouchier to make 55 off 36 balls. As the Rockets’ seamers struggled to react to the left-right opening combination, the Brave surged to 45 for 0 in their 25-ball powerplay.

“Initially, I didn’t know two or three bowlers, I had just watched their videos, so it was important for me to see them and how the wicket was playing, because I’ve just come off a tour from Bangladesh and the conditions were pretty different,” Mandhana said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Wyatt flicked Bryony Smith into the off side, where Sciver-Brunt took a brilliant catch coming back from extra cover, but Bouchier came out swinging, smashing 31 off 18 balls with four fours and a slog-swept six.

In the middle stage, Mandhana attacked on the Rockets’ spinners, accelerating down the pitch and lofting Smith’s offbreak back over her head for a straight six, and when she brought up a 32-ball half-century, Brave seemed on track to break their own record total in the women’s Hundred of 166.

Brave struggled near the end, losing five wickets for 29 runs off the last 22 balls, but Chloe Tryon’s 10-ball 23 from No. 5 kept them in the game.

The Rockets’ reply began with a run-out, Smith stitched up by Lizelle Lee when Shrubsole’s leg-side wide diverted down to Kalea Moore at short fine leg, and 158 always looked a tall order, despite the presence of Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle order.