Leading India in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana scripted history at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Mandhana scored her maiden T20I century as India handed England a heavy 97-run defeat in the series opener. After the match, Mandhana revealed that her teammates, especially Radha Yadav were teasing here, saying she gets out in 70s, 80s and misses the opportunity to score a century.
"Three days back, me and Radha Yadav, we were having a conversation," Mandhana said after India took a 1-0 lead in the five-T20I series.
"These girls are really hard on me sometimes. She was telling me, 'It's high time you get a century in T20Is, you keep getting out in the 70s, 80s and you are not doing justice to your talent and all of that stuff.'
"I was like, 'okay, Radha, I'll see now, this time I'll try and get it in one of the matches in the series'."
As Mandhana reached her century in the 16th over. Immediately, she gestured towards her teammate Radha after fulfilling the promise. The opener revealed that it was frustrating to miss out on reaching three figures at times. She was happy to stay in the middle till the 20th over.
"I did not think that it would come in the first match, but the finger was towards her, that 'see, I got it today,'" Mandhana said.
"Because it's pretty frustrating to get out in the 70s and 80s over the last ten years and when you had that opportunity to take the team through. So I'm happy that I could stay and take the team to the 19th and the 20th over."
Mandhana's record
Mandhana scored 112 runs from 62 balls. She became the second Indian batter after Harmanpreet to score a century in T20Is. She also joined the elite list of batters who have scored a century across all three formats.
India aim for historic series win
The second T20I of the series will be played at County Ground, Bristol on July 1. Harmanpreet is expected to return to the side. India are aiming for their first T20I series win on England soil.