Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana entertained fans with her cheerful personality during India’s Women’s World Cup 2025 fixture against Bangladesh on Sunday, October 26, at the Dr. D. Y. Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. The encounter, unfortunately, ended without a result after persistent rain forced the umpires to call off play, with India finishing fourth in the group stage with three wins to their name.
While fielding near the ropes, Mandhana became the center of a light-hearted exchange with spectators. The crowd began chanting, “Ek do, ek do, Smriti Di ko bowling do,” urging the star opener to roll her arm over. Hearing the fans, Mandhana responded with a shy smile and waved at them, leaving everyone in splits despite the gloomy weather.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑵𝒂𝒗𝒊 𝑴𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒊 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆. 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Mandhana’s consistency shines as India secures a semi-final berth
Despite the washed-out fixture, Mandhana continues to dominate the charts as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, having amassed 365 runs in seven innings at an average of 60.83. Her campaign has been marked by match-defining innings — including a century (109 off 95 balls) against New Zealand, and vital knocks of 88 against England and 80 against Australia.
“𝑺𝒎𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍 — 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂’𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.
Team India, led by a blend of youth and experience, registered wins against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand, while suffering narrow defeats to Australia, England, and South Africa. Despite the challenges, their spirited performances — spearheaded by Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, and Deepti Sharma — secured a spot in the semi-finals.
The Women in Blue will next face Australia in the second semi-final on October 30 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, while England and South Africa battle it out in the first semi-final on October 29 in Guwahati.
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