Why we'll remember Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma's dream partnership at Birmingham for a long time

Smriti Mandhana being left-handed, every shot she played dripped with grace, including the massive slog over the bowler for six that landed well into the stands. (Image source: Twitter/BCCIWomen)

Watching Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma in action against Pakistan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham had a curious effect—without consciously thinking about it, the first thing it evoked was a memory: of watching Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag opening for India.

Here was a compact left-handed batter at the height of her powers, totally bossing the opposition, relying on her wonderfully honed timing, announcing her intentions with a magnificent lifted drive over extra cover, as smooth and effortless a shot as you’ll ever see on a cricket field.

Her muscular, powerful opening partner then waded into the thick of things with a hoick over the bowler’s head that was a marvel of hand-eye coordination and brute force, sending the ball soaring over the boundary, landing just shy of the stands.

There was Mandhana, opening the face of the bat at the last second to guide a well-pitched ball outside her off stump. Here was Verma, pulling a short one with a mighty swivel to the boundary.

It was not just the right-hand/left-hand combination, or the parochial thought that Verma and Sehwag are both from Haryana, but the similarities in playing styles that brought on the comparison.

Mandhana being left-handed, every shot she played dripped with grace, including the massive slog over the bowler for six that landed well into the stands and brought up her 50, or the boss swing over leg on that won India the game; but, more importantly, it was yet another example of the fact that when Mandhana gets going, India are most likely to run away with the game.

Some years ago, in a conversation with David Gower, one of the finest left-handed batters the game has ever seen, I asked him why southpaws just looked more “beautiful” in the way they executed their shots. He scoffed.

“If you put a mirror in front of Virat Kohli or Sunil Gavaskar and watch the reflection of them playing, you’d probably think that the reflection is playing more gracefully!” Gower said. “I can’t explain it, it’s some visual trick of the brain, it’s got nothing to do with the actual batting. The reality is, whether you are a great batter or an average one is all about how you time the ball.”

Mandhana, if you look at the way she times her shots, that extra bit of ease and space she opens up, is headed for greatness.

The push for cricket being included in the Olympics or in multi-sport mega events under the banner of the International Olympic Committee like the CWG has met with divided opinions. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) itself has voiced its dissent, for example.

For the major cricket playing nations, with bilateral series in three formats, T20 leagues, and ICC events like the World Cups, there is already far too much cricket and it makes little sense to add yet another event. Unless of course cricket at the Olympics goes the way of football at the Olympics, fielding mostly U21 teams with a couple of senior players thrown in.

But it makes eminent sense to have women’s cricket at these events since the women get to play with far less frequency than the men. In India, in fact, it’s reached apathetic proportions. Here’s a team that’s made the final of three World Cups, including the 2020 T20 World Cup, where they lost to the hosts, Australia, being offered a piteous handful of games per year—in 2021, they played 9 T20s, 11 ODIs and 1 Test, and that was a good year. The men played 14 Tests, 18 T20s and 6 ODIs in the same time, plus the IPL, which, for reasons impossible to fathom, does not feature a women’s version yet.

The point being, women’s T20 at the CWG was a great idea. It gives them much-needed exposure and plenty of eyeballs. It’s a great occasion too. India are likely to reach the finals, with Australia and England being their toughest opposition at Birmingham.

The team looked great on the field against Pakistan. The body language was confident and full of the sheer joy of playing big games. The fielding was tight, often superb, including a direct hit from Meghna Singh that resulted in a run out, a lightning pick up and throw from point that resulted in another run out, a reflexive, diving low catch from Verma off her own bowling and plenty of all-heart efforts. The bowling was disciplined and effective, with newcomer Renuka Thakur, who had scythed through the Australian top-order in the first match, showing impressive wicket-taking skills again, with nice movement on the ball as well as guile and flight from India’s mainstay in bowling, the spinners.

A multi-sport event is an opportunity for India to turn away from cricket-obsession and watch some other athletic feats, but the women’s team will ensure that exciting cricket is never too far away.