'Smriti Mandhana plays without nerves' – Heather Knight
On 23 July 2017, Knight led England to victory in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final at Lord’s, while Mandhana, the India opener, was out cheaply and left to wonder what-if. But on Sunday, 22 July 2018, the pair were on the same side in the Women’s Cricket Super League and in fine form.
Knight struck 97 off 62 balls to help Western Storm open their title defence with an eight-wicket win. She struck 13 fours and five sixes in her knock, before she holed out trying to strike a boundary with two runs required for the win.
What an incredible innings on KSL debut from Smriti Mandhana! 48 from just 20 balls!
— Western Storm (@_WesternStorm) July 22, 2018
Some amazing shots here! 💥💥#StormTroopers 🌪️ 🌪 @mandhana_smriti @sachin_rt @BCCIWomen @Anya_shrubsole @legsidelizzy @ECB_cricket @SGanguly99 @VVSLaxman281 @harbhajan_singh pic.twitter.com/JW2dkDzw6C
She had combined with Mandhana for an 80-run stand for the second wicket, with the Indian opener racing away to 48 off 20 balls, which included five sixes.
Their chase of Yorkshire Diamonds’ 162/5 was completed with 27 balls to spare.
On a “belter of a wicket”, a record number of sixes were struck in the match, beating the previous record of 10 from 2016.
RESULT: An unbeaten 6⃣2⃣ from @Tammy_Beaumont and 4⃣8⃣ from @MdpMinx22 see the Vipers to a 7⃣ wicket win against @StarsKSL!
— Southern Vipers (@VipersKSL) July 22, 2018
Earlier 4⃣ wickets from @FiMorris8 and 3⃣ from @tashfarrant saw the Stars restricted to 141-9 from their 20 overs.#BewareTheVipers 🐍🔥 pic.twitter.com/IoEpvje4lt
“Smriti Mandhana plays without any nerves and we saw a little bit of what she can do,” said Knight after the match. “She was hitting the ball so cleanly, all I had to do was play a supporting role.
“I went for my shots a bit more after she got out and I was timing the ball really well out there. I saw that the hundred was on and they don’t come along that often in T20. In the end I fell just short and I guess I’ll get a bit of stick for turning down a single at the end."
A lot of fun batting with @mandhana_smriti yesterday. She taught me how to call in Hindi mid partnership!! 🤷🏼♀️ https://t.co/jdJtNZGCRd
— Heather Knight (@Heatherknight55) July 23, 2018
Elsewhere in the competition, another World Cup winner and Player of the Tournament then, Tammy Beaumont, made her maiden WCSL fifty on debut for 2016 winners Southern Vipers.
Her unbeaten 62 helped chase down the target of 142 against Surrey Stars, her old team, with three overs to spare.
“I wanted to do well against my old team – I had a point to prove,” said Beaumont. “Mark Robinson [the England coach] challenged us England players to be the standout players this year and we’ve got a T20 World Cup right around the corner. It’s nice to be not out at the end.”
