The cameras just couldn’t part ways with Smriti Mandhana, now happily settled in the dugout. All smiles, as always.
Moments earlier, she had walked off the field – obviously grinning – having completed her second and final over of the night.
Ever since an April morning in 2013, when she first wore an India cap as a 17-year-old, Mandhana had never rolled her arm over in international cricket. Harmanpreet Kaur was her captain in that Vadodara game as well. Over a decade later, she called up Mandhana in the fifteenth over of South Africa’s chase for another debut. Of sorts.
The hosting honours went to a cheering set of spectators in Bengaluru, the home 'venue' for the franchise she led to the Women's Premier League title three months ago.
As she stood at her bowling mark, there was very little to expect. Hardly anyone had seen her bowl before, unless you had seen the odd appearance in the BBL, or her India A and U19 days much before that. She briefly bowled in the Inter-Zonal competition earlier this year, but it was barely noticed.
The records indicated a variety of off-breaks were to make an appearance. The slightly longer run-up suggested something seam-up.
She casually sauntered in in true part-timer spirit. The first ball was slightly short, close to the off stump. Sune Luus was happy to dab it away.
It seemed like an exercise meant to appease the crowd more than anything. Next ball, the crowd turned maniacal alright.
Virat Kohli 🤝 Smriti Mandhana.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 19, 2024
- The No.18 connection! 😄❤️ pic.twitter.com/SNqw6lgnyC
Pitched on a similar length but further away from the stumps, Luus was lured into a stroke. She went chasing at it, only to feather behind. That was it – after 222 appearances and no prior bowling spells to her name, Smriti Mandhana had an international wicket.
She bolted away in celebration, screaming in delight. One arm in the air, sprinting before her teammates caught up for high-fives. There was a double-arm raise before she was engulfed by hugs, the cheers in the background matching near-packed stadiums.
The telecast marked her speed at 110.9kph, hard to believe even if you hadn’t seen the previous speedgun gaffes in the game. HawkEye reportedly had her close to 99, still an impressive figure for the number of steps she took.
It took a while for everyone to settle, including Mandhana. The next ball was a full toss sent to the ropes, breaking the bubble of astonishment around.
Watch: Smriti Mandhana takes a wicket in her first international over
Mandhana’s eventual offerings were a mix of too full or back of length, the speed even prompting the wicketkeeper to stand up to the stumps. You couldn’t help but look past the wrong-footed delivery stride, awkward and gangly, quite like the other No.18 who is worshipped in this part of the country. “Wrong-footed inswinging menace” is how Rahul Dravid had once described Virat Kohli. Mandhana isn’t far off that compliment.
On-air, the commentators discussed how Mandhana had actually practised bowling ahead of the first ODI. With Jemimah Rodrigues batting in the nets and only the sidearm in operation, Mandhana chipped in to fill in for the lack of bowlers. The shutterbugs were happy to capture some of it, but few would have expected her to repeat it in an actual game.
There was some juice on the green pitch, and movement off the air due to cloudy skies. Arundhati Reddy, on ODI debut, had swung a few in sharply. Still, nothing would have prepared you for Mandhana, the bowler.
Another over was all she offered, before heading out of the ground, a smile on her face and cheers on her ears.
A couple of hours earlier, Mandhana was raising her bat in delight, having equalled Mithali Raj for the most women’s ODI hundreds by an Indian. It had already been a landmark day for her, made sweeter by the win and some movement on her wickets column.
“Smriti has been nagging me for a while to give her a couple of overs,” coach Amol Muzumdar revealed after the game.
We wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of that long-sleeved, wrong-footed, fiddly action.
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