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Indian batting heavyweight Smriti Mandhana dedicated her record-breaking century against Hong Kong to her family, while acknowledging that India had limited exposure to their opponents and had to focus on adjusting to the pace of the game.
Mandhana delivered a masterclass as India Women cruised to a massive 137-run victory over Hong Kong in their Group A encounter of the Womens Asia Cup 2026 at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. "It's been a lot of things; I would like to dedicate this to my family. We are not really aware of them because we have only seen a few videos, just more about adjusting to the pace," Mandhana said after the match. Mandhana smashed 124 off just 64 balls as India Women posted 193/5. In reply, Hong Kong could only managed 56 runs on the board as Indian spinner Deepti Sharma (3/9 in 3 overs), Shree Charani (2/16 in 3.2 overs) and Prema Rawat (2/12 in 3 overs) dismantled the Hong Kong batting lineup in 16.2 overs. Medium pacer Nandani Sharma also claimed two wickets, registering figures of 2/6 in 3 overs. Mandhana has become the leading century maker in womens international cricket, surpassing Australias Meg Lanning. She has also surpassed former Indian skipper Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in Womens cricket. Speaking after the victory, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur highlighted Mandhana and Shafali Verma's strong batting, while noting that the middle order needs more time at the crease. She praised India's bowling effort and Deepti Sharma's contribution, while also appreciating Hong Kong's enthusiasm, calling it a great experience to play against them. "I will start with the positives. Smriti and Shafali played very well. The middle order needs some batting time, but the bowlers did a great job. We are pretty much sorted; we will see if we want to change something. I am grateful to these players for our country. Deepti has also been great. HKC, the way they celebrate, it's important to enjoy the moments. Great playing against them!" Kaur said. (ANI)
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