‘I didn’t know all this happened’: Smriti Mandhana reacts after rewriting women’s cricket history

Smriti Mandhana of India Bats (Getty Images) Smriti Mandhana produced a record knock as India stormed into the women’s Asia Cup semi-finals with a 137-run win over Hong Kong on Thursday. The Indian opener smashed 124 off 64 balls to help his side to 193 for five before Hong Kong were bowled out for 56 in 16.2 overs.Mandhana’s century was her second in T20 internationals and made her the only Indian woman to achieve the feat. In women’s cricket, she also moved past Meg Lanning for the most international centuries, reaching 18 hundreds across formats. Later in the innings, she overtook Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s internationals.Despite the historic nature of her innings, Mandhana admitted that she was unaware of the records she had broken.“I didn’t know all this happened,” Mandhana said after being informed about her record-breaking effort.When asked who she would dedicate her century to, the Player of the Match replied that her family remained close to her heart.“I don’t mean anyone I want to devote, but definitely my family.Mandhana also explained how she approached the Hong Kong attack as she had never faced opposition before.“We’re not really aware (of the opposition). We’ve seen a few videos but we’re not very aware. It’s our first time playing them, so when you come up against a bowler you don’t know much, you have to forget you’ve played any cricket. You just have to go, look at the ball and I think it was more about adapting to the pace.”The left-hander initially took some time to settle before accelerating alongside Shafali Verma, who scored 28 off 17 balls. Mandhana ended up hitting seven sixes and 14 boundaries, making the batting look effortless despite the surface not being particularly easy for strokes.She was also asked if she missed a few full throws during the power play and admitted that such serves are not necessarily her strong suit.“I would say full tosses are not my strong suit (laughs). I’m glad I missed a few full tosses today. I think any top batsman would say sometimes full tosses can go for a six or you can get out.”Mandhana earlier acknowledged Hong Kong’s disciplined bowling, especially during the power over.“It’s really hard for me to play the slower bowlers, but credit to them. They were really disciplined in the overs. They bowled quite well and the kind of energy they showed was something we can all learn from. Having said that, I just love batting and I’m glad I could contribute.”India secured their second win in as many matches and will face Pakistan on Saturday.