Mandhana is pretty good with calculations; conversations in middle are simple, says Rawal

It has been less than a year since they joined forces, but India openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal have forged an extremely successful partnership at the top.

On Thursday, the pair’s batting prowess was once again on show as they set the platform for the team’s semifinal qualification in the Women’s World Cup with a record 212-run partnership.

India vice-captain Mandhana and Rawal put the New Zealand bowling attack to the sword, smashing fine centuries to set up a 53-run win (DLS Method) in a rain-affected game.

This was their seventh century stand and fifth in 2025 since they paired in December last year.

Mandhana’s 95-ball 105 and Rawal’s 122 from 134 deliveries powered India to a massive 340/3  — the highest total by any team in this World Cup — as India crushed New Zealand to make the final four.

The pair’s 212-run stand is now India’s highest in Women’s World Cup history, as the duo has so far put on 1,799 runs together in 23 innings.

Rawal said the partnership has blossomed because both the players have great understanding between them.

“The conversations are pretty simple. She lets me do what I do best and I do not interfere in whatever she does best,” Rawal told the media after the match.

“The whole conversation that happens when we are batting is the calculation part — how much to get in order to set up a big total and when we are chasing how to break down (the chase) into fewer parts so that we can chase it easily.”

“She is pretty good with calculations and I like to chip in with whatever she has to say to me. I think it is both ways, so we like to keep it pretty simple,” said Rawal, who became the joint-fastest with Australia’s Lindsay Reeler to complete 1,000 ODI runs in 23 innings.

Rawal praised Jemimah Rodrigues’ quick-fire 76 not out off 55 deliveries on her home ground, which gave a huge boost to India’s total.

“She did an amazing job. She got those runs which we needed the most. She is the home girl. She has played a lot of cricket here and she knows everything around here,” Rawal said.

Rawal said she struggled initially to connect the ball but she kept her composure, which helped her overcome the difficult phase.

“Initially, yes. There was a bit of struggle with me personally. I was not able to middle the ball as well as I could do in the previous matches. But I am very happy with the way I kept my nerves. I just focused on everything that came my way,” she said.

“Regarding the strike rate, there are certain templates that I like to play on. I have had a lot of discussion with the coaches. I have had multiple conversations on how I can progress with my game (or) what is my contribution to the team. On that front, I just try to contribute whatever is best for the team,” Rawal replied.

She reiterated that there was no lack of effort on the team’s part in the three successive World Cup games the hosts lost.

“We were having this discussion to have belief in ourselves that we can win the match anytime at any moment and we have those kinds of players, those match winners who can score big runs and can take a lot of wickets,” she said.

“I want to point out that we were playing amazing cricket since we started the tournament. We (have) had different match winners like Deepti (Sharma) in the first match. Aman (Amanjot Kaur) helped us out (in the second against Sri Lanka).”

“Unfortunately, we lost the three matches but we played brilliantly in those matches as well. It (a win) was due for us and I am very happy that we all came together and won the match for our country,” Rawal added.

Rawal said wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh’s finger injury sustained during the game was not serious.

“Richa is absolutely fine. Unfortunately, she got her finger injured during the match. She was keeping some wide ball and I think she hurt her finger. But it’s not that serious,” she said.