Nottingham, June 28 (IANS) Smriti Mandhana created history with a century against England in the first T20I at Trent Bridge as she became the first Indian woman to score a hundred in all three formats. She is also the second Indian woman to score a T20 ton after regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

Her 112 off 62 deliveries, in an innings laced with 15 boundaries and three maximums, powered India to a massive total of 210/5 in 20 overs, their highest total against England in T20 Internationals. Mandhana’s maiden T20 century on Saturday was the 14th time she has crossed the triple-digit mark in her career, with 11 tons in ODIs and two coming in the longest format.

With regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur rested as a precautionary measure after suffering a head injury, vice-captain and left-handed opener Mandhana is leading the side in her absence.

India have also handed a debut to left-arm spinner N. Shree Charani, while Sneh Rana makes a comeback into the T20I team after two years.

The 28-year-old Mandhana, who hails from Mumbai, made her international debut for India in a T20 match against Bangladesh women at Vadodara on April 5, 2013. She was just 16 at the time. She scored her maiden international century – 102 from 109 balls – against Australia in an ODI match at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart in 2016. In 2021, she scored her maiden Test century in the pink ball Test against Australia on the Gold Coast.

Her most prolific format remains One-Day Internationals. She is coming off a prolific year with four ODI centuries in the 2024 calendar year, earning her another major record in women’s cricket. No other batter has ever managed more than three tons in a single calendar year. She was named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year and was also named in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year. In June 2018, the BCCI awarded Mandhana the Best International Cricketer during the BCCI Awards

–IANS

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