Current team India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana smashed a brilliant half-century to help her side the Southern Brave crush the Trent Rockets by 10 wickets and book their place in the knockout stages of The Hundred in Southampton on Thursday, August 26.
The 26-year-old impressed with a 31-ball 57 that included nine fours and two maximums after Lauren Bell (4/10) bagged her best figures of the season to restrict Rockets to 88 for eight at the Ageas Bowl.
Chasing a below-par total, Mandhana joined forces with fellow opener England's Danni Wyatt (36 off 25) as the hosts cruised to victory with 44 balls to spare. The star Indian batter looked in quality touch as she slammed the very first ball of the chase for a boundary.
The 26-year-old then continued in the same vein as she hit Natalie Scriver for a hat-trick of fours a few balls later. She raced to her fifty in 30 balls before sealing the victory with a fabulous six.
Earlier, Elyse Villani (25), Marie Kelly (22) and Scriver (19) served as the main contributors for the Rockets. Apart from Bell, Amanda-Jade Wellington snared three wickets, giving away 18 runs for the Braves.
Victory for Brave not only confirmed their place in the knockout stages, but all effectively fixed their place at the top of their respective group. They are set to advance to the final for the second year in a row. And a defeat for the Rockets meant that they must rely on many other results if they are to have any chance of finishing in the top three.
Their two seasons in the competition have seen the Braves win 12 of their 14 matches. They are also unbeaten at home and their two losses came in rain-reduced games away to the Manchester Originals, and an aberrational collapse in last year's final against Oval Invincibles.
