To watch Smriti Mandhana play is exactly what youd expect—the vice captain of the Indian Women's Cricket team is constant, calm and undeterred. As she scored her first century in the 2017 World Cup Final, a cheeky sidesmile appeared from under her helmet. She hugged her teammate and went back to base. No mighty show of strength, no vigorous fist pumps—just an incredible game of body, mind, and bat.
“She practises as per the conditions ahead of a tour,” explains her coach of 13 years, Anant Tambvekar. If she is going to Australia, she practises with wet tennis balls. If she’s going to be in England, she practises early in the morning when it is cold, windy and wet. That’s the reason behind her run-making spree... That’s why she is in the Top 10 of the world rankings,” he says, citing natural talent as the foundation of her innings in cricket thus far. The part where she bands together 11 girls on the pitch, each in a tempered dance of synchronised play, her own emotions even-keeled and stoic—that part, is all her.
When I meet her, she is on a rare 10-day break, visiting family back home in Sangli, where she’s been privy to her nephew’s first steps and first bat courtesy a cricket-loving grandfather), and now she’s making a pit stop in Mumbai to attend a close friend’s wedding. After nine months on the road, I love that off period when I can actually go back home and spend time with everyone. Being with family is like a detox for me.” Cricket, however, is always on loop. A women’s match plays on the hotel room TV as we decode footwork and fielding. And once she settles her 5’8” frame onto a couch with a mid-evening snack comprising a sandwich and fries, we begin meandering through her memories of becoming the cricketer she is today.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.