India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana reached a major milestone during the third and final ODI against England at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday. The left-handed batter became the most successful overseas opener in Women’s ODIs on English soil, surpassing former India batter Punam Raut. With her knock of 45 off 54 balls, Mandhana took her overall tally in England to 715 runs, the highest by any visiting opener in the country. Mandhana, who opened the innings with the 24-year-old Pratika Rawal, looked in control early on. She struck five fours and put up a solid 64-run opening stand before being dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone in the 18th over. The 29-year-old now stands as India’s most prolific opener in England in the ODI format, adding yet another feather to her already impressive career.India rode on a superb century from captain Harmanpreet Kaur and valuable contributions from the middle order to post 318/5 in the third and final ODI against England. Opting to bat first, India got off to a steady start with Mandhana and Rawal adding 64 runs. Kaur then led from the front with a fluent 102 off 84 balls, her seventh ODI hundred, and crossed the 4000-run mark in the format. She shared key partnerships with Harleen Deol (81 runs) and Jemimah Rodrigues (110 runs) to keep the scoreboard ticking.
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Rodrigues hit a quick 50 off 45 balls, while Richa Ghosh smashed 38* off 18 balls at the end to push India past the 300-mark.Among English bowlers, Sophie Ecclestone was the most economical, returning figures of 1/28 in 10 overs, with 2 maiden overs as well.
