Published: Jan 24, 2019, 06:12 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 24, 2019, 06:11 PM (IST)
India women’s team dished out a dominating performance as they beat New Zealand in Napier to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series. After the spin trio of Ekta Bisht (3/32), Deepti Sharma (2/27) and Poonam Yadav (3/42) bundled out the hometeam for 192, Smriti Mandhana’s hundred and Jemimah Rodrigues unbeaten 81 sealed India’s nine-wicket win at McLean Park. (ALSO READ: 1st ODI: Mandhana, spinners lead India women’s nine-wicket rout of New Zealand)
While Mandhana got out as India needed just three runs to win, her fourth ODI ton made her the first Indian woman cricketer and second overall, after the legendary Claire Taylor, to have scored hundreds in each of the SENA countries – South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia. (ALSO READ: Mandhana’s form gives us a lot of confidence: Mithali)
The Indian left-hander scored her first ODI hundred (102 off 109 balls) at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, in Australia against Australia on February 5, 2016. While her first ton did not give India a win, her second (106 not out off 108 balls) – against West Indies in at the Bristol County Ground in England during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 (June 29), helped India register a win. (ALSO READ: Told myself to not play rash and lofted shots: Smriti Mandhana)
| Player | South Africa | England | New Zealand | Australia |
| Smriti Mandhana (India) | 2018 | 2017 | 2019 | 2016 |
| Claire Taylor (England) | 2005 | 2005, 2006, 2007 | 2000, 2008 | 2009 |
Her third hundred – 135 off 129 balls – was pivotal for India as they beat South Africa at the De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley in South Africa on February 7, 2018.
Mandhana, who has 1707 runs against her name after 45 ODIs, scored 105 off 104 balls, hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes as she brought up her fourth ODI hundred. The England great, during her storied career, in which she played 15 Tests, 126 ODIs and 27 T20Is, scored 12 hundreds in international cricket – 4 in Tests and 8 in ODIs.
