The Indian women's cricket team has continued its outstanding performance in the ODI format, winning 11 out of the last 12 matches. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal's opening partnership has played a crucial role in this success.
Smriti Mandhana & Pratika Rawal New World Record: Opening batsmen Smriti Mandhana and young player Pratika Rawal of the Indian women's cricket team have set a new world record in the first ODI match played against England.
In the match played at the Southampton ground, India defeated England by 4 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Mandhana and Rawal's opening partnership played a key role in this victory and also created a special milestone in women's cricket.
Indian Team Maintains Consistent Form
The Indian women's team has won 11 out of the last 12 ODI matches, with a major contribution from the opening partnership of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal. In the first ODI against England, India was given a target of 269 runs. In response, Mandhana and Rawal's partnership scored 48 runs for the first wicket, giving the team a solid start.
Along with this small but important partnership, both players set a major record. They completed 1000 runs as an opening pair in women's ODI cricket, which is only the third such opening pair for India to have crossed this mark.
Third Opening Pair to Score 1000 Runs for India
Before Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, the opening pairs of Jaya Sharma and Anju Jain, and Jaya Sharma and Karuna Jain had scored 1229 runs and 1169 runs respectively for India. Now, the pair of Smriti and Pratika have also made their name in this prestigious list. The most special thing about this match was that Mandhana and Rawal also set the record for the best average among the opening pairs with at least 1000 runs.
They broke the record of England's Caroline Atkins and Sarah Taylor, who had completed 1000 runs with an average of 68.8. Average of opening pairs with at least 1000 runs (Women's ODI)
- Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal (India) - Average of 84.6
- Caroline Atkins and Sarah Taylor (England) - Average of 68.8
- Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy (Australia) - Average of 63.4
- Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones (England) - Average of 62.8
- Belinda Clark and Lisa Keightley (Australia) - Average of 52.9
Pratika Rawal Creates History in Just 12 Innings
After the poor form of Shafali Verma, 24-year-old Pratika Rawal was given a chance to open with Smriti Mandhana. Pratika cashed in on this opportunity completely and set the record of a 1000-run opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana in just 12 innings. Pratika Rawal has scored 674 runs at an average of 51.27 in 12 ODI matches so far.
In these innings, she has scored 1 century and 5 half-centuries. These figures clearly show that Pratika has cemented her place in the team and can become a b pillar of the Indian women's team for a long time. This pair is consistently laying a b foundation for the Indian women's cricket team. Both batsmen play a steady innings at the start and take the team to a b position.
Both of them also played an important role in this victory against England. Even though the partnership was of 48 runs, they proved once again that India's opening pair has become one of the most dangerous pairs in the world.
