SMRITI MANDHANA MAKES CRICKET LOOK EASY

In conversation with Man's World for Hyundai Drive Within campaign, the stylish Indian batter talks about her craft, evolution, and her thoughts on women's cricket

- Ravi Raj

When Smriti Mandhana made her international debut in 2013 as a bespectacled left-handed batter, the existence of women's cricket lingered on the margins of our collective consciousness. More than a decade later, women's cricket has grown from a mere footnote to the main text in our sporting discourse, and at the forefront of this transition stands Mandhana's meteoric ascension to stardom. Her journey from obscurity to stardom mirrors the evolution of the sport as a whole too. Mandhana brought a dash of flamboyance to the Indian batting unit, a stroke-filled game that was just way ahead of the time. And now, the fate of Indian batting depends so much on her form that if she's in her rhythm, India are already the favourites to hunt down any target.

It's not just efficiency that makes her stand out; the sheer beauty of her batting is equally mesmerising, evoking a sublime sensation. Her strokes have the power to cut across cold numbers and leave a deep imprint on your psyche. Yes, her cover drives have been a subject of eternal fascination, but there's more to her game, be it her authoritative cut or pull or the way she charges down the ground–there's a sense of presumptuous ease around everything she does. She could climb the boulder up the hill, and yet there would hardly be a trace of weariness on her face. She could just whack your fastest delivery straight over your head, and you see there's hardly any outline of ecstasy on her face. It's easy for her. It's natural. "I always hated defending," said Mandhana last year, in a shoot with Hyundai Motor India Limited for the previous season of The Drive Within. Nothing testifies to her love for aggressive strokeplay as this little nugget: her strike rate among top-five run-scorers in the shortest format of the game is second to none. Despite having shouldered the immense weight of expectations for over a decade now, Mandhana remains unfazed, and in high spirits to do well for the team.