"Can we exchange Shreyas Iyer for Smriti Mandhana?" - Twitter erupts as India opener smashes fastest T20I fifty in CWG 2022

Smriti Mandhana went berserk against England Women to get India Women off to a flying start in the Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022) semi-final at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday, August 6.

Opting to bat first, Mandhana fired on all cylinders to maximize the field restrictions. The southpaw dismissed everything that was in her arc and accumulated quick runs.

Mandhana cut loose in the second over of the innings, scoring 11 runs. By the time she reached her half-century in 23 balls, India had 55 runs on the board. Such was Mandhana's dominance in the middle.

The Indian vice-captain eventually perished in the ninth over, trying to scoop one over the short fine leg fielder. However, she didn't get the required elevation and holed out to Issy Wong off Nat Sciver. Mandhana amassed 61 off just 32 deliveries, including eight boundaries and three massive sixes.

Fans on social media went gaga over Mandhana's brilliant knock. Many compared her to the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Sourav Ganguly while others were taken aback by Smriti Mandhana's consistency in knockout games.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Jemimah Rodrigues' late flourish takes India to 164

After India dominated the first seven overs of the match, England bounced back slowly, removing both openers, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, in quick succession. The Women in Blue were 77/2 when Harmanpreet Kaur joined Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle.

Harmanpreet got off to a start but perished immediately after scoring a run-a-ball 20. While it looked like England would stem the flow of runs, Jemimah and Deepti Sharma used the field placements to perfection to score quick runs.

India eventually managed to post 164/4 in their 20 overs. Deepti was out after 22 while Jemimah remained unbeaten on 31-ball 44 to put up a challenging total on the scoreboard.