For the last three months, Smriti Mandhana has had a pink Kookaburra ball in her kit. And, she has been “looking” at it as often as possible.
That probably helped, as she took the pink ball on on the opening day of India’s Day-Night Test against Australia as if she had been doing it all her life. That she had had just two training sessions with the pink ball didn’t seem to matter.
The elegant left-hander was unbeaten on 80 when rain brought an early end to the first day’s play at Carrara. At a virtual press conference she revealed she had ordered the pink ball while playing The Hundred in England.
“I had placed the order for the ball because I knew there was going to be a Test match,” she said, smiling. “I thought I could at least look at the ball and understand (it). I carried it in my kit for three months and I thought I could have a session to use it, but didn’t get the time.”
Yet, Smriti, along with her opening partner Shafali Verma, frustrated the Australians.
“We enjoy batting with each other (regardless) of the format,” she said. “We back each other. (For instance), when I chased a wide ball outside off-stump, she came up and told me it was going too far away.”
She said the Australians bowled too short at the start.
“The wicket wasn’t as hard as they would have (wanted),” she said.
