Smriti Mandhana Overtakes Mithali Raj, Becomes Indian Women’s Player With Most ODI Centuries

In a rollercoaster of a series where India and New Zealand grabbed a game each, it all came down to the wire in the third and final ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to decide the winner.
It was India fired up by a brilliant ton from Smriti Mandhana (100), who took the honours by six wickets. The southpaw was the Player of the Match for her eight hundred in the format.

With this century, Mandhana broke the record for most ODI hundreds for India in Women’s ODIs, overtaking Mithali Raj (7) with whom she was tied earlier.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, the White Ferns started their innings steadily, placing themselves at 23/0 after the first six. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side struck back with some crucial wickets between the seventh and the eleventh overs, taking the scalps of Suzie Bates (4), Lauren Down (1) and the skipper, Sophie Devine (9) who were all sent back for single-digit scores.

Brooke Halliday and Georgia Plimmer tried to take back control before Priya Mishra picked up her second of the evening with the wicket of Plimmer, who made 39. After being reduced to 88/5 in the 24th over, Halliday and Izzy Gaze (25) rebuilt the innings with a 64-run partnership.