Meg Lanning Hails Smriti Mandhana World Class After Historic ODI Ton

Key Points

Meg Lanning praised Smriti Mandhana as a world-class player following her dominant 117-run knock against Australia. The innings helped India secure their first home ODI victory against Australia since 2007. Lanning revealed that Mandhana's threat occupied significant time in Australia's planning meetings. The Australian captain also noted that teams might employ spin bowling early to counter Mandhana's batting prowess.

Key Points: Meg Lanning Hails Smriti Mandhana World Class After Historic ODI Ton

Mandhana's 117 off 91 balls powered India to 292 runs
Victory marked India's first home ODI win vs Australia since 2007
Lanning reveals Mandhana dominated Australia's planning meetings
Mandhana boasts 791 runs in 18 ODIs against Australia with 3 centuries

Sep 20, 2025

3 min read

She's already a world-class player: Meg Lanning applauds Smriti Mandhana following a dominant 100 in 2nd ODI

Australia's Meg Lanning praises Smriti Mandhana's match-winning 117 as India records first home ODI win vs Australia since 2007. Full analysis of her World Cup threat.

"She's already a world-class player, has been for a long time - Meg Lanning"

New Delhi, September 20

Following a dominant chase from the visitors in the series opener, India's win in the second ODI over Australia was historic as Smriti Mandhana's 117 off 91 balls helped India post 292 before bowling out Australia for 190. Reflecting on that knock and her consistency at the top of the order, Australia's Meg Lanning was full of praise for the 29-year-old batter and the impact she continues to have for the World Cup hosts.

The century also came in right after the left-hander was crowned the world's premier batter in the ICC Women's ODI Batter Rankings. The resulting 102-run victory was India's first home ODI win against Australia since 2007 and Australia's heaviest defeat by runs in ODI history, as per the ICC website.

"She's got a lot of good cricket ahead of her, Smriti [Mandhana]. She's already a world-class player, has been for a long time, and especially in this format of the game, she's capable of really making those match-winning scores and those big hundreds, and they're the players you worry about as an opposition team," Lanning said, speaking on The ICC Review.

"She's shown that time and time again that she's very dangerous and able to perform under pressure in big moments. So she's setting herself up nicely for a really big World Cup," she said.

In assessing the challenges she poses, Lanning revealed how Australia geared up for the threat to contain Mandhana's influence at the top of the order.

Despite diminished numbers in her three outings against Australia in World Cups, Mandhana still has an impeccable record at the top against the seven-time World Cup winners, racking up 791 runs in 18 outings with three hundreds to her name.

"She took up a lot of time in our planning meetings, that's for sure," Lanning recalled. She's developed her game a lot as well. I think we've seen the Australians use Ash Gardner a lot up front to her in the past. I think off spin's been a good match-up [against her]. So I think a lot of teams around the world will try and employ that," she added.

"The conditions come into it a little bit. The wickets over there seem to be pretty good, but if there is a little bit more turn and spin in it, then yeah, you might see teams opening with spin a little bit more. But yeah, she's certainly very difficult to bowl to. And as I said, she takes up a lot of time in terms of planning. So it'll be interesting to see if any teams come up with anything different," she concluded.

India take on Australia on 12th October in Visakhapatnam, one of the blockbuster clashes of the tournament.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

Priya S

Smriti is making us so proud! Her consistency at the top order is remarkable. When Lanning says she takes up planning time, you know she's a genuine threat to the best teams. World Cup is looking promising! ðŸ’ª

Michael C

As an Aussie cricket fan, I have to admit Mandhana is pure class. Her cover drives are a thing of beauty. When she's in form, she's unstoppable. Respect from Down Under! ðŸ

Ananya R

Finally we're seeing our women's team get the recognition they deserve! Smriti's century was absolutely brilliant. Hope this momentum continues into the World Cup. Jai Hind! ðŸ™Œ

Sarah B

While Smriti was outstanding, I hope our middle order also steps up. Can't rely on one player alone in the World Cup. Need more consistent performances from others too.

Vikram M

ð—¦ð—ºð—¿ð—¶ð˜ð—¶ ð— ð—®ð—»ð—±ð—µð—®ð—»ð—® - ð—ªð—¼ð—¿ð—¹ð—± ð—¡ð—¼. ðŸ ð—•ð—®ð˜ð˜ð—²ð—¿ ð—®ð—»ð—± ð—»ð—¼ð˜„ ð˜ð—µð—¶ð˜€ ð—¶ð—»ð—»ð—¶ð—»ð—´ð˜€! ðŸ¤© She's carrying the team on her shoulders. The way she handled the pressure against the world champions was incredible. More power to her!

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She's already a world-class player: Meg Lanning applauds Smriti Mandhana following a dominant 100 in 2nd ODI

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