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Although Smriti Mandhana's batting talent is known to many, her act of generosity towards her teammates and support staff often doesn't grab headlines. The latest addition to this list came during the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 game between India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday (October 9).
Coming in as a substitute fielder for skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Radha Yadav plucked three catches to eventually help India win by 82 runs. In particular, her diving catch to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne went viral on social media. After the game, Mandhana asked Yadav to lead the Indian team on their return to the dressing room as a sign of respect for her fielding performances.
Earlier this year, during the Asia Cup, the left-hander gifted a phone to a young wheelchair-bound fan, who came to attend their game against Pakistan.
However, both instances were recorded when Smriti Mandhana served as the vice-captain of her respective team. Let's take a look at the three noteworthy acts by Mandhana as a captain, which impressed the cricket fraternity.
1) Defending bowlers for a loss in WPL 2023
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) started their Women's Premier League (WPL) campaign on a bad note. They could not open their account in the first four games, and were dominated in three of them. After failing to defend 138 and facing a 10-wicket loss against UP Warriorz, captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her disappointment at the post-match conference.
Mandhana blamed herself and the rest of the batters for not scoring enough runs and giving a cushion to the bowlers. She said (via ESPNcricinfo):
“I think in the last four games, it has been happening. We start well and we lose a cluster of wickets. I will take the blame as well. As a top order batter, we need to put up runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. I have tried to speak to almost all the players, pep them up and I have to keep doing it."
RCB went on to win only two out of eight games and failed to qualify for the playoffs in WPL 2023.
2) Praising Nepal players and clicking photographs with them in Asia Cup 2024
During the Asia Cup held earlier this year, India met Nepal on July 23 in Dambulla. Smriti Mandhana acted as the stand-in captain after Harmanpreet Kaur was rested for the game.
Batting first, the Women in Blue posted 178 on the board, with Shafali Verma scoring 81. In response, Nepal could only manage to score 96/9 in their designated 20 overs.
At the post-match presentation, Mandhana lauded the Nepalese team and said (via ESPNcricinfo):
"They (Nepal) always had a smile on their face, sometimes with the amount of cricket we play we forget to enjoy the game, they played some good cricket and hopefully they keep improving and we get to play them often."
The star batter also clicked photos with a few of the Nepal players, which gained the limelight due to her generous gesture.
Check out the video below:
3) Dedicated WPL 2024 trophy to loyal RCB fanbase
Although the Smriti Mandhana-led RCB had a disappointing 2023 season, they bounced back with an impressive performance in 2024. They secured four victories in eight games to qualify for the playoffs and went on to clinch their maiden WPL title.
The title victory ended the wait of RCB fans, who were longing to see their favorite team emerge as champions. Although the men's team hasn't been able to achieve the feat until now, the women's team brought joy to the RCB fanbase.
Highlighting the importance of this victory for the fans at the post-match conference, captain Smriti Mandhana said (via Cricbuzz):
"Thumbs up to them. For RCB, it's a lot more. I'm not the only one who won the trophy, the team has won the trophy. I'm not the person to talk about what I feel. This is in top five maybe. Obviously a World Cup would top it."
"Have a message for the fans - the most loyal fanbase. One statement that always comes up is Ee Sala Cup Namde. Now it's Ee Sala Cup Namdu. Kannada is not my first language but it was important to say it for the fans," she concluded.
