Mandhana's Maiden T20I Century Fueled by Yadav's Encouragement; India Dominates England

Smriti Mandhana revealed that a conversation with Radha Yadav served as the catalyst for her first-ever T20I century. The India Women's star achieved the milestone in the first T20I against England Women.

Smriti Mandhana scored her maiden T20I hundred in the first game against England © Getty

"Three days back, me and Radha Yadav were having a conversation," Mandhana stated. "These girls are really hard on me sometimes. She was telling me, 'It's high time you get a century in T20Is. You keep getting out in the 70s, 80s and you are not doing justice to your talent and all of that stuff.'"

Mandhana added, "I was like, 'okay, Radha, I'll see now, this time I'll try and get it in one of the matches in the series'."

Upon reaching her century, Mandhana became only the second Indian woman to achieve this feat in T20Is. She also joined an elite group of five female cricketers, including Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, Laura Wolvaardt, and Beth Mooney, to have scored a century in all three international formats.

Mandhana acknowledged Radha immediately after reaching the milestone, pointing towards her from the pitch, a gesture that signified both joy and relief.

"I did not think that it would come in the first match, but the finger was towards her, that 'see, I got it today,'" Mandhana explained. "Because it's pretty frustrating to get out in the 70s and 80s over the last ten years and when you had that opportunity to take the team through. So I'm happy that I could stay and take the team to the 19th and the 20th over."

With Harmanpreet Kaur unavailable due to a late fitness test, Mandhana stepped in as captain. She asserted that the added responsibility didn't alter her batting approach.

"As a batter, it doesn't change a lot. You don't think that you are captaining and you bat differently," Mandhana said. "Whenever you have the bat in hand, you have to do the job for the team regardless of the position you are in, so I'm really happy that I could contribute today."

She also revealed the team's preparations in anticipation of Harmanpreet's potential absence.

"Harman was getting assessed over last night and this morning and there were a few scans to be done. We had a 50-50 idea, so I had a chat with the bowlers around what the plans are and I was pretty ready last night but the confirmation came today."

Under Mandhana's captaincy, India delivered a comprehensive performance, handing England their most significant T20I defeat. Shree Charani, in her debut international T20I, impressed with a four-wicket haul.

"The way the bowlers bowled and executed the plan, it was just amazing," Mandhana said. "That makes our job very, very easy when they bowl like that and they all were really focused, they knew their plans."

"Especially Shree, to come in the first match and bowl. We saw what she could do in the WPL a little bit. She was always looking like a really good bowler. But today the way she actually bowled was amazing, as did all the bowlers."