When Heather Knight got a lesson in Hindi from Smriti Mandhana

Mandhana got off to a blazing start, striking five sixes in her 48 off 20 balls in the 23 July match. Knight, the quiet partner early on, continued after that to get to 97 off 62 balls.

Knight revealed after the match that during their stand, Mandhana taught her to call in Hindi.

In an exclusive chat with the ICC, she explained, “She was struggling to call in English, so I asked her to tell me what ‘yes’ was in Hindi.”

Added Mandhana, “I’ve always played against her [Knight], so playing alongside her was fun.

“It was a bit hard for me to call out in English, because we are used to calling out in Hindi, so I was telling her ‘haan’ is yes. So she was like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll run for that!’"

For the England skipper, who led her side to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 title, it was a language lesson worth learning, and just one of the varied experiences that come with playing a T20 league.

“I’m not sure I’ll be wanting to do it [learn a new language] every week,” she laughed, “but if I can learn ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in Hindi and help Smriti bat there in the middle – because she got off to a great start for us – then that’s great!”

Of course, calling for a run is only one of the many things she’s picking up from the Indian opener. With the ICC Women’s World T20 coming up in November, Knight is also keeping an eye on Smriti’s game.

“It’s one of the great things about T20 [leagues],” she said. “You get to play with different people from around the world and work out how they play their cricket.

“They’ll get a better look at you and vice versa.”

Mandhana agreed with her: “It makes us a better player. Learning from experiences we’ll all grow together.”