Smriti Mandhana

Born on July 18 1996, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Smriti Shriniwas Mandhana is an Indian batswoman and member of the Indian women's national team. Smriti seeks inspiration to pursue a career in cricket from her father and brother. They are domestic level cricketers and started exhibiting their calibre in the sport from nine. She is popularly known for her batting skills at the national and international levels.

Achievements:-

• She got selected as a player of the Maharashtra Under-15 team at 9.
• She appeared in the Maharashtra Under-19s Team at 11.
• Hit a double century in a one-day game in 2013 and became the first Indian woman to do so with a smacking unbeaten 224 off 150 balls against the team of Gujarat in the West Zone Under-19 Tournament.
• She made her test debut in 2014 against England and helped her squad with 22 and 51 runs in the first and second innings.
• She scored three half-centuries, aiding her team in winning the 2016 Women's Challenger Trophy and was also declared the top scorer of the tournament with 192 runs.
• In 2016, Smriti signed up to play in the Women's Big Bash League and Harmanpreet Kaur, becoming the first two cricketers to get selected for the league.
• She made her maiden ODI century during India's tour of Australia in 2016 with a score of 102 off 109 balls.
• In a Women's Tri-Nation Series, she scored the fastest fifty in 25 balls for India and broke her previous record in March 2018.
• Entitled as the Best Women's International Cricketer in 2018 by BCCI.
• Became the first Indian cricketer to be signed up for the Kia Super League by the Western Storm in June 2018.
• Smriti became the 2018 Women's Cricketer of the Year & 2018 Women's ODI Player.
• Honoured with the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award in 2018.
• She was bestowed with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2018.
• Became the youngest T20I captain for India to lead the women's team against England in the first T20I in 2019.
• She was honoured with the International Woman Cricketer of the Year award at the CEAT International Cricket Awards in 2019.
• In November 2019, Smriti became the third-fastest cricketer, in terms of innings, to score 2,000 runs in ODIs in just 51 innings during the series against the West Indies.
• Entitled as the Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket) at the Sportstar ACES Awards in 2020.
• In January 2020, she got named into India's squad for Australia's 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. She became the first Indian to hit Century in the Women's Big Bash League ( WBBL ) with a record-equalling 114 not out in September 2021.
• On October 1 2021, Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian Women Cricketer to score a test century in Australia.
• She ranked No.3 on MRF Worldwide ICC Women's T20 player rankings for batting & the third-highest run-scorer for India in women's T20s in 2021.
• Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian female cricketer to score a century in both ODIs & Tests in Australia.