Smriti Mandhana smashes fastest fifty by an Indian woman

Fastest fifty by an Indian woman: Smriti Mandhana hit seven fours and three sixes in her innings of 58 off 34 balls scoring at a strike rate of 170.58.

Smriti Mandhana broke her own record to smash the fastest fifty by an Indian woman in the first T20I against New Zealand at Hamilton on Wednesday. Mandhana reached her half-century off just 24 balls, bettering her own record set against England last year where she had reached the milestone off 25 balls.

Mandhan also jointly holds the record for the fastest fifty in women’s T20s along with New Zealand captain Sophie Devine. Both of them reached their fifties in 18 balls. While Devine did it against India in a T20I in 2015, Mandhana did it in the Women’s Kia Super League in 2018 for the Western Storms.

On Wednesday, Mandhana reached her seventh T20I fifty off 24 balls with a six over mid-wicket. She finished with 58 off 34 balls to give India women a flying start in their 160-run chase.

Mandhana hit seven fours and three sixes in her innings and scored at a strike rate of 170.58.

In men’s cricket, the record for the fastest fifty in T20Is belongs to India’s Yuvraj Singh. He had got to the mark in just 12 balls against England in the 2007 World T20.

Mandhana recently attained the No. 1 in the Women’s ODI rankings. She was player of the series in the three ODI series against New Zealand. The southpaw had scored 105 and 90 in the first two ODIs, helping her team to rare series win in New Zealand. Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning of Australia are second and third respectively.