Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh both played a huge role in India completing a record chase to beat Australia in the Super Overs by four runs on Sunday at the DY Patil Stadium.
Ghosh hit a six off the first ball of the Super Over and was dismissed on the very next delivery. However, Mandhana scored 13 runs off the final three balls to give the Women in Blue a sufficient cushion of 20 runs to defend.
The southpaw sliced a boundary over point and then gave herself room to time the next ball beautifully over the covers for a fantastic six.
Speaking with Richa Ghosh in a video posted by the BCCI on social media after the game, here's what Smriti Mandhana had to say about her batting in the Super Over:
"Super Over kya hai? Ball dekhna hai aur maarna hai (laughs) (You just have to keep it simple and see the ball and hit it in the Super Over). Richa's six on the first ball really charged me up. I started thinking that if this 18-19-year-old girl is depositing it into the stands, I should at least try and get the ball to the boundary."
Richa Ghosh hails Smriti Mandhana for her knock
Richa Ghosh believes the kind of start that Smriti Mandhana gave to India's chase helped batters like her to come out and play their natural game later. She credited the vice-captain for setting up the chase by taking the game deep.
On this, Ghosh stated:
"We get inspired by you Smriti didi. The kind of start you give to the innings gives us the confidence that we can come in later and hit the big shots."
This win would have certainly boosted the morale of the hosts as they tied the five-match series 1-1. The Women in Blue will be keen to carry the momentum into the next T20I, set to be played at the CCI (Brabourne Stadium) on Wednesday.
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