‘She Found That Year Tough But…’: Heather Knight Reflects On Years Of Rivalry With Smriti Mandhana | Cricket News

Smriti Mandhana has been in stupendous form over the past year (Picture credit: ICC)

Star England batter Heather Knight has said that her first look at a young Smriti Mandhana made her think highly of the youngster, adding that she admires how the Indian star has progressed in her career as a classy batter.

Mandhana was in brilliant touch with the bat during the three-match ODI series against Australia before the start of the ongoing Women’s World Cup.

Notching two memorable hundreds, Mandhana finished the richly contested bilateral series as the Player of the Series.

“I remember playing against Smriti in her first ODI series. When I saw her playing, I thought, ‘Wow, this girl is going to be quite good.’ Since then, I have admired how she has progressed as a batter and how she has always carried herself with such calmness. That calmness is something I also value as a cricketer and I have a huge amount of respect for her,” Knight said while speaking to JioStar. 

Mandhana made her Test debut against England, in which she scored a half-century in the second innings.

“I have seen her grow as a leader as well. I played with her in England for Western Storm, in Hobart and later at RCB under her captaincy in what was a really tough first WPL season for us,” Knight said. 

“She (Smriti) found that year difficult, but I gained a lot of respect for how she came back stronger the next season and found her feet. Smriti is a proper rock star in India. Just being around her and seeing how many people recognise her is crazy, but she deals with it all while staying humble,” Knight added. 

Not having found her feet till recently in the Women’s World Cup, Mandhana played an 80-run knock against Australia on Sunday, October 12, but that didn’t help India’s cause.