Indian opener Smriti Mandhana is proving her worth in international arena. In the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2017, she has scored two 50+ scores and one of them is a century as well.

The southpaw is going through a purple patch and is one of the reasons Team India have won both of their games in the tournament so far.

Smriti has worked really hard to make it to the international team. She has played cricket all her life and that reflects when the stylish southpaw strokes the ball to the ropes. The youngster has gathered a lot of understanding from the time she has spent in domestic cricket and was always a big run scorer in all the age groups. There is a lot to know about this young Indian sensation, so here are some unknown facts about Smriti Mandhana.

1. Smriti is nothing without cricket

Smriti’s family only comprises of cricketers. Her father played district level cricket for Sangli and her brother has represented Maharashtra at the under-16 level. She and cricket has always gone hand in hand and that certainly reflects in her game.

2. Early debut

The southpaw was so good that she was called up by the Maharashtra under-15 team at the age of just 9. She then went on to play for the Maharashtra under-19 team at the age of 11.

3. Double hundred in a One-Day match

Smriti has been a surprise package ever since she started playing cricket. In 2013, she smashed a huge 224 in just 150 deliveries in a West Zone tournament for under-19s in Vadodara and she did it for Maharashtra while playing against the home team Gujarat. She played those memorable innings with the bat given to her by none other than legendary batsman Rahul Dravid.

4. Teenage ODI debut

Mandhana is one of the youngest debutants and was called up for the series against Bangladesh in 2013. She played her first international game against the same opposition in the month of April in 2013 and no looking back since then.

5. Test debut at the age of 18

Smriti was just a teenager (18 years) when she made her Test debut against England. It was August of 2014 when she played her first Test against England in Wormsley. She is yet to make a mark in the longest format of the game but will assuredly get better as she has time on her side.

6. Featured in ICC women’s team of the year in 2016

At the age of 19, Mandhana was selected for the ICC’s team of the year in 2016. For her superb batting display and she was rewarded with a place in the team of the year along with some mega stars of the game.

7. Youngest Indian half-century in T20I cricket

Smriti is the youngest Indian woman cricketer to score a fifty in a T20I. She has scored 424 runs in T20Is in the 25 matches she has played for the team so far.

The southpaw is also the second youngest Indian woman cricketer to score a half-century in Test cricket. However, she has only played 3 innings in Test cricket till date and will be looking to make it big in the longest format of the game in upcoming future.