Smriti Mandhana finds form in Kerala; smashes 80, crosses 10,000 international runs

Smriti Mandhana ended her brief run of low scores in the ongoing T20I home series against Sri Lanka with a fine fifty in the fourth match in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

The left-hander moved from her 30s to her 50s in Rashmika Sewwandi's second over, hitting a pair of boundaries between a six, which was swept over square leg in style.

Soon after crafting her 32nd T20I half-century, Mandhana treated Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu to a four and a six, the first straight over the off-spinner's head. She hit consecutive boundaries in the next over from Malsha Shehani. She launched Kavindi for a six soon after to go past Shafali Verma, who had been the initial aggressor during the powerplay. Verma fell for 79 off 46, giving a simple return catch to Nimasha Meepage.

Mandhana also crossed the 10,000-run mark in international cricket in the process. Just when it looked like she was all set to hit a century, Mandhana miscued a Shehani delivery and was dismissed for 80 off 48.

In the three previous matches in the series, the opener made 25, 14 and 1, though India won all three matches by comfortable margins. Mandhana had last scored a T20I half-century against England at The Oval in July, going five innings without a 50-plus score.