When Smriti Mandhana has a bad day, which isn’t that often fortunately for Indian women’s cricket, she goes back to videos of Matthew Hayden and Kumar Sangakkara. So when she got an opportunity the other day to talk to the former Australian opener, she took advantage of that.

“When I saw him doing the commentary, I got excited,” Smriti said ahead of India’s T20 World Cup match against Australia. “We had a good chat and I wanted to know a few things about things like the grip. I wasn’t sure about talking with him before a game against Australia, but he was really kind and sweet. He shared a lot of things, which I hope I can apply to my batting.”

Smriti said it was indeed a big match for India against Australia. “We have all spoken a lot about how we really want to be playing the aggressive brand of cricket and that is something which we will all look to do tomorrow,” she said. “Everyone is itching to go.”

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Smriti is glad that her opening partnership with Shafali Verma is rocking again, after a bit of wobble. “We had a very quiet series in the England series (before the World Cup) but we both were really pumped up to get back to giving the good starts for India because whenever we lay the foundation, more or less, we are in a good place. I am really happy with the way she is striking the ball.”

She is also glad to see some nice things Shafali has been doing with the ball of late. “She has been amazing,” Smriti said. “She did that in the World Cup final for sure, then a little bit in WPL as well. I remember her getting a player of the match for her bowling in WPL. It is very handy to have her as a bowler.”

Published on Jun 27, 2026