VADODARA, 2013: West Zone Under-19 ODI tournament &ndash; Maharashtra Vs Gujarat
SEVENTEEN-year-old Smriti Mandhana was unaware that she was about to play the innings of her life and create a record when she walked out to bat with the bat of an Indian legend tucked under her arm. Little did she know that this would be a life-changing display.
This was an era when all the young cricketers in India dreamed of batting like Rahul Dravid and have an unbreakable technique like the &lsquo;Wall&rsquo;. But Smriti Mandhana actually had the unique chance to bat with Rahul Dravid&rsquo;s bat.
For Indian cricket fans in the &lsquo;90s, there was a range of legends to choose &nbsp; &nbsp;from. The present women&rsquo;s cricket team were in awe of Tendulkar&rsquo;s sheer genius, Sourav Ganguly&rsquo;s aggression, Virender Sehwag&rsquo;s destructive &nbsp; &nbsp;powers and Anil Kumble&rsquo;s magical deliveries, to name a few. However, in this golden era, Rahul Dravid stood out with his calm yet unshakable presence and demeanour. His rock-solid defence was the nightmare of the fastest bowlers in the world as they wondered how to breach the &lsquo;Wall&rsquo;. Indian cricket is indebted to him; armed with a perfect stance, he saved India from certain defeat on several occasions despite performing under high pressure. He had the uncanny knack of building a strong innings to flip the game.
<img title="Smriti Mandhana at the ICC Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup in 2025, where the team made history by winning their maiden WC title" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/aug/smrita-thirty-one-aug-b_e.jpg" alt="Smriti Mandhana at the ICC Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup in 2025, where the team made history by winning their maiden WC title" />Smriti Mandhana at the ICC Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup in 2025, where the team made history by winning their maiden WC title
Just like Excalibur, the legendary magical sword of King Arthur that was given to him by the Lady of the Lake in the popular English myth, Smriti received the bat of the legendary Rahul Dravid. She did justice to the iconic blade by smashing a memorable double century in the match, a which resulted in a call-up into the national team. The few spectators at the Alembic Ground witnessed a superlative innings as the 17-year-old Smriti scored 224 off just 150 balls as the Gujarat bowlers were dispatched to all corners of the park. The 17-year-old girl from Sangli, Maharashtra, became the first Indian female cricketer to score a double century in a domestic one-day game. Smriti felt that Dravid&rsquo;s bat had brought her luck and made her more confident as a batter. She scored two more centuries in the tournament with that bat!
&lsquo;I have been scoring very well since the time I have started playing with Dravid Sir&rsquo;s bat,&rsquo; Smriti said at the time. &lsquo;My brother met Dravid during his visit to Bangalore last year and told him about my passion for cricket.&rsquo;
Smriti&rsquo;s brother, Shravan, was a promising cricketer who requested Rahul Dravid for a bat. Gracious man that he is, Dravid obliged. The former Indian captain gave his signed practice bat to Shravan, who played for the Maharashtra Under-19 team. Dravid signed the bat for Smriti on Shravan&rsquo;s request, who eventually quit cricket to pursue a career in banking. Smriti discovered that the bat had great balance and began using it. In fact, she scored her maiden ODI and T20 international runs with it as well. The bat is one of Smriti&rsquo;s cherished possessions. She carries this bat in her oversized kit during training, even though she does not use it anymore. Today Rahul Dravid himself has recognised Smriti Mandhana as a game-changer who has popularised women&rsquo;s cricket to be on an equal footing with men&rsquo;s cricket.
<img title="Mandhana (left) and Sneha Rana celebrate after taking a wicket off Melie Kerr of New Zealand during the World Cup at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai " src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/aug/smrita-thirty-one-aug-c_e.jpg" alt="Mandhana (left) and Sneha Rana celebrate after taking a wicket off Melie Kerr of New Zealand during the World Cup at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai " width="1280" height="720" />Mandhana (left) and Sneha Rana celebrate after taking a wicket off Melie Kerr of New Zealand during the World Cup at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai &nbsp;&nbsp;
This talent for cricket was nurtured in Smriti by her surroundings, as well as by her father, Srinivas Mandhana, who had represented Sangli in district cricket. Her father&rsquo;s dream was that one of his children should play cricket for India. Shravan looked capable of fulfilling this dream as he became famous in Sangli by making it into the Maharashtra Under-16 team. As runs flowed from Shravan&rsquo;s bat, a young Smriti was elated and proud to see her elder brother&rsquo;s name cropping up with periodical regularity in the local papers. Smriti used to cut those newspaper clippings and carefully preserve them in her scrapbook.
&lsquo;One day I thought I should also be scoring runs like this,&rsquo; Smriti shared with ESPNCricinfo back in 2016. &lsquo;My father never said no to me, so whenever my brother went for a net session, he used to lob balls at me gently. Then my father started bowling from 15 yards, and he noticed I could hit the ball well. I didn&rsquo;t even know what a cover drive or square cut was. I am a right-hander otherwise, but because my father had a fascination for left-handed batsmen, my brother and I played left-handed. So that is how it started,&rsquo; she added, despite both of them being natural right-handers like Sourav Ganguly. &nbsp; &nbsp;
That was the beginning of her batting obsession, and she confesses that she loves batting so much that she can bat all day. Smriti was hugely inspired by Shravan&rsquo;s early success as he made waves for the a Maharashtra Under-16 team. But unlike Shravan, Smriti did not have any aspirations of becoming a professional cricketer or playing cricket for India back then. She loved the game and was content just playing with the boys back at Sangli. Her technical knowledge had increased considerably, and she had fallen in love with the batting of Sri Lankan left-hander Kumar Sangakkara, a legend in his own right. But what changed Smriti&rsquo;s destiny was a pair of gloves that her brother handed &nbsp; &nbsp;over to her. &nbsp; &nbsp;
&lsquo;I&rsquo;m done with cricket,&rsquo; Shravan declared after struggling in vain to make it to the big league. He urged his sister to take the game more seriously so that their father&rsquo;s wish could be fulfilled. That marked Mandhana&rsquo;s transition to a southpaw from a right-handed batter as the batting gloves belonged to a left-hander after all. &nbsp; &nbsp;
&bull; &bull; &bull;
Although Smriti was born in Mumbai on July 18, 1996, her parents had to move to Sangli after facing losses in the family business. She was just two years old then. But this was a blessing in disguise as she could then fully focus on cricket. Unlike life in a teeming metropolis like Mumbai, where travel consumed a majority of one&rsquo;s time, it was a slow-burner in Sangli. Smriti could prolong her sessions to bat as long as she wanted to in Sangli, a rarity in a city like Mumbai.
The Maharashtra Under-19 side drafted Smriti Mandhana when she was only 11 years old. But a chance to be in the playing XI arrived only after two more years. When Smriti was just 15 years old, she was faced with the most difficult decision of her life: education or cricket?
Smriti recalled her class X boards with a laugh, &lsquo;I wanted to study science, but my mother dissuaded me because she knew I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to balance studies and cricket then.&rsquo; Smriti scored 86 per cent in class X and 68 per cent in her class XII. The numbers might have reversed in education, but her numbers in batting raged on like a forest fire.
In February 2019, Smriti Mandhana became the World&rsquo;s No. 1 batter in ICC Women&rsquo;s ODI rankings. She has been ranked No. 1 in the ICC Women&rsquo;s ODI Batting Rankings multiple times. Her strong performances ensured she reclaimed the top spot in September and December 2025 too.&nbsp;
But batting is just one of the three departments in cricket. As someone said famously, &lsquo;Everyone must field!&rsquo; Her captain in the Maharashtra team and former India international, Anuja Patil, recalls that Smriti was &lsquo;pretty sloppy&rsquo; on the field during her early days. While she loved batting, she hated fielding, and this resulted in a lot of yelling from Patil.
&lsquo;Looks like my screaming has had good impact. Look at her now,&rsquo; Patil said in 2018. The transition into a complete cricketer has transformed Smriti Mandhana into one of the better fielders in the Indian team.
&lsquo;She is someone who wants to excel in every aspect of the game, and for that, she will go the distance,&rsquo; the same Sportstar article quoted above reported Shravan saying, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s how she has evolved her game and that&rsquo;s the secret of her success.&rsquo;
Extracted with permission from Miracle Women by Swayam Ganguly, published by Hachette India

book extract  When cricketer Smriti Mandhana made her first double century, it wasn’t just Rahul Dravid’s bat that gave her wings, but also the blood, sweat

Bend it like Smriti Mandhana: Inside the new book 'Miracle Women' by Swayam Ganguly

The Universe’s left hand

Book Ezxtract: When cricketer Smriti Mandhana made her first double century, it wasn’t just Rahul Dravid’s bat that gave her wings, but also the blood, sweat, and tears of players such as Diana Edulji and Mithali Raj, who built Indian women’s cricket from the ground up. A new book by Swayam Ganguly covers this glowing legacy

Bend it like Smriti Mandhana

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