Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris has recently compared India woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana to India captain Virat Kohli. Madhana might not have got a great start in the T20 World Cup opener against Australia but has all the ingredients to become a world-class cricketer.

Smriti Mandhana has been the best player for her side for the last few years by showcasing ability and flamboyance on the cricket field. It is a great feeling to see someone like her stepping up and delivering the goods for India. Smriti who is often known for her attacking and aggressive batting style made her a huge fan-favourite. During the T20 World Cup fixture between India and Australia, Scott Styris, at the commentary panel referred Smriti Mandhana as the Virat Kohli of women’s cricket.

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“She’s (Smriti Mandhana) the Virat Kohli of women’s cricket. And will be remembered as someone who changed women’s cricket much like Viv Richards did a long time ago in men’s cricket,” he said.

In June 2018, India’s governing body, BCCI gave her the best Women’s International Cricketer award. In December 2018, the global cricket body, ICC awarded her with the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the best female cricketer of the year as well. In fact, she was also named the ODI Player of the Year by the ICC in the same year too.

Smriti Mandhana came in the limelight in October 2013 when she became the first Indian woman cricketer to score a double century in a domestic One Day game. Playing for Maharashtra against Gujarat, she smashed an unbeaten 224 off 150 balls in the West Zone Under-19 Tournament, at the Alembic Cricket Ground in Vadodara.

In the 2016 Women’s Challenger Trophy, she scored three half-centuries for India Red in as many games and helped her team win the Trophy as well by scoring an unbeaten 62 off 82 balls in the final against India Blue. She ended up as the leading run-getter of the tournament with 192 runs as well.