29-year-old Smriti Mandhana makes script history, becoming the youngest ever…

Chennai: India Women’s Smriti Mandhana (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said she was proud to reach 300 international caps, with the milestone coming during the first ever women’s Test at Lord’s. The 29-year-old also became the youngest woman in cricket history to achieve the feat and is the 12th woman overall to play 300 international matches. Before the match, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bowl. India handed over Test debut to Shree Charani while Yastika Bhatia returned to the playing XI. England gave debut caps to Alice Capsey and Mady Villiers.Mandhana revealed that she came to know about the milestone only the night before the match. Reflecting on her journey, she recalled playing the 2017 Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s and how uncertain she felt about her future after a tough tournament.“Actually, I found out about the 300th international last night. As a player, you don’t really watch games across all formats. I remember playing the 2017 World Cup final here at Lord’s.“I didn’t have a great World Cup then and I didn’t know if I would get a chance to play for India again. So to come back and play my 300th international at Lord’s, I couldn’t have asked for a better place.”She also spoke about putting the T20 World Cup disappointment behind her and focusing on the future.“We had a chance at Lord’s to qualify against Australia (for the T20 World Cup). We couldn’t take that opportunity but that’s cricket. You have to move on.“Whether you get a hundred or a zero, every time you go out there you’re starting an innings from scratch. It’s the same with the team. You’re going to have good days and bad days, but we’ll always take it in stride and try to give the best for the country.”Mandhana said the transition from T20 to red-ball cricket required a change in mindset and a return to basics.“The long batting definitely helps, especially as we don’t play a lot of Test cricket. We’ve played a pink-ball Test in Perth before. It was great to be back at Wormsley. I hadn’t been there since 2014 so it brought back old memories.“For me, preparation is about adjustment after the opening in T20 cricket where you are expected to score quickly at a high strike rate. In red-ball cricket, you have to watch the ball carefully. Getting back to basics is very important. Preparation was about doing the basics right and spending long periods at the crease.”