Indian woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana is celebrating her birthday on Thursday, July 18. Mandhana, who was recently conferred with prestigious Arjuna Award, turns 23 today. With 1951 runs in 50 ODIs and 1298 runs in 58 T20s so far, the left-handed batswoman has proved her strength in batting.  Women cricket has been overshadowed by men cricket in India over decades, but things have changed in past few years and women cricketers have also enjoyed a lot of fan-following and media attention. Mandhana has now become a well-known name among Indian cricket fans and here we look at some of interesting things about the Maharashtra-based cricketer on the occasion of her 23rd birthday. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Confers Arjuna Awards to Tennis Player Rohan Bopanna and Women Cricketer Smriti Mandhana. 

Cricket Family!

Smriti Mandhana’s brother and father are also closely associated with the game of cricket. Her father Shrinivas and brother Shravan played cricket at the district level for Sangli, a district of Maharashtra.

200 Chaser!

Mandhana became the first Indian woman cricketer to hit a double-century in ODIs. She played an unbeaten knock of 224 runs off 150 balls while playing for Maharashtra against Gujarat in West Zone under-19 tournament. The match was played at Alembic Cricket Ground in Vadodara.

Special Bat!

The 23-year-old cricketer has a special bat with her which was gifted to brother by former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid. She carries the bat in her kit but never uses it to play.

Youngest Skipper!

Mandhana became the youngest T20 captain for India in February, 2019 when she led the women’s team against England. She was just 22 years and 229 days old at the moment and replaced Harmanpreet Kaur as skipper, who was ruled out of the three-match T20 series due to an ankle injury.  A Sexist Troll Labels Smriti Mandhana as Ugly & Passes Misogynistic Remark; ICC Blocks the Netizen. 

No Science Please!

After passing class tenth, Mandhana wanted to study science. But her mother her dissuaded her decision as she believed that her daughter would not be able to manage both studies and cricket. So Mandhana went ahead with commerce stream instead and later took up Bachelor of Commerce course during degree college.

Mandhana was inspired to play cricket after watching her brother play cricket. Her father and mother always supported her cricket career and she has become as one of the aspiring name in women cricket in India at present. Along with India, she also plays in many foreign cricket leagues.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2019 12:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).