“Always fun batting with Shafali” - Mandhana

“Always fun batting with Shafali” - Mandhana

India's opener Smriti Mandhana feels that a better understanding with her opening partner Shafali Verma over the past two-and-a-half years has been beneficial as they now know how to complement each other.

Mandhana and Shafali, who began to start together in T20Is in 2019, have been India's most successful opening pair in the shortest format with 2,079 runs at an average of 31.98 in 66 T20Is.

Mandhana and Shafali started opening in ODIs in 2021 and have already added 767 runs in 19 matches at an average of 34.86 and are set to become the country's most successful opening pair in the format as well.

In the ongoing T20I series, the pair have added 118 runs in the four matches played so far. "I'm really happy and it's always nice to bat with Shafali. I think over the last two-and-a-half years we've got a better understanding of which bowlers she's going to target and which bowlers I can and how we're going to bat together," Mandhana told T-sport.

"I think in the last two and a half years there's been a better understanding of what role to play. Sometimes she plays second fiddle when I go, and most of the time she goes and I try to hit her," she said.

"I think the understanding has come and it's only going to grow and we're starting to understand each other better, we're going to be able to give India a better platform to start with, especially in the World Cup, and I really hope that we both can do that again," she said.

Mandhana added that she is happy to have won all the matches in the series so far while stating that they are happy to adjust to the conditions ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled for Bangladesh from September to October.

"After a good WPL, I was really keen to come here and we were all so happy with the way (things were going). I think the bowlers bowled and the pitch was a bit up and down and the batting was very good so very happy. We came here with a plan and a goal for the team to prepare for the World Cup," she said.

Mandhana says that the WPL is a good platform for the Indian women's team to improve their performance. To my mind, this is a very competitive place. Two years have passed. There is nothing more lacking in Indian women cricketers than talent. We have been given a lot of good and strong talent by WPL. Still, five or six players are ready to play international cricket. What is great is that we all want the WPL to be used as a stepping stone to playing international cricket.

India is among the top performers and top scorers across all platforms. Mandhana further discussed that success means that the player is a good student of the game. "I think as a player, the secret is not a secret," Mandhana said. "It could just be a good student of the game and the game has changed and being on the international circuit for 10 years the game has changed a lot. I'm just trying to be a good student and know where to play. how to play and what to play and it's very important to keep the basics simple doing the same thing every day over and over again is the only thing I follow and I think you do your things right and (the rest) will take care of itself,” she concluded.