Indian women's batting star Smriti Mandhana stole the show on her debut match in Kia Super League match at Taunton. Mandhana opened the batting for Western Storm and slammed an impressive 48 runs in 20 balls to get the chase cracking and went on to win the match pretty easily for her side.
Storm captain Heather Knight then took over as she too tonked 97 runs in 62 balls to seal the deal for Somerset resulting in Yorkshire facing their heaviest defeat in the very first match of the season.
The Indian southpaw was especially impressive as there was no display of nerves and took a special liking for the spinners. She succeeded in stabilising the innings after the initial wicket of Rachel Priest fell and then got cracking to break the back of the opponent.
A match-winning partnership
Western Storm cruised home in just 15.3 overs and even sauntered away with a bonus point which will hold them in great shape once the tournament heads towards the business end.
The score read 80 when Mandhana was dismissed in the eighth over and the side still needed 83 runs in the remaining 12 overs. Captain Knight played a blinder but was unfortunate to not get to her century as she holed out for 97 runs.
"Smriti Mandhana plays without any nerves and we saw a little bit of what she can do," said Knight after the match.
"She was hitting the ball so cleanly, all I had to do was play a supporting role. I went for my shots a bit more after she got out and I was timing the ball really well out there. I saw that the hundred was on and they don't come along that often in T20," the captain further added.
A total of 15 sixes were hit in the game, which is a record in any KSL game and the duo slammed 10 amongst them.
All eyes will now be on Harmanpreet Singh, the captain of India's T20 team, who will play for Lancashire Thunder. Unlike Mandhana, Harmanpreet has been in great form in the recent past and hence her performance for Thunder will be closely observed.
Brief Scores: Yorkshire Diamonds: 162/5 (Kimmince 55, Winfield 41); Western Storm 166 for 3 (Knight 97, Mandhana 48)
