Indian women’s team is flying high on confidence after their historic bilateral T20I series win in Australia. That victory did more for the team than hand them the trophy. It gave them the self belief that they are now feeding on, in the ICC World Twenty20. A very important cog of this unit is young batter Smriti Mandhana, who has shouldered much of the team’s batting contribution at a young age of 19. A century and a fifty in the Australia ODIs were followed by several match-winning scores in the T20Is and the home series against Sri Lanka.

CaptainMithali Raj holds this teenager in high regards and foresees her taking up bigger responsibilities in the times to come. Mandhana, with her fearless approach to cricket and superlative batting talent, is keen to continue winning matches for India. Here is her chat with BCCI.TV in which Mandhana talks about her batting strength, role models and learning from Mithali. The spirits are high within the team for this World Twenty20. Is there an air of quiet confidence among the camp? We have been waiting for this tournament for the last two years. After the Australian tour, we have the belief that we can do it. If we can beat the world champions, we can definitely lift the World Cup. That is the one common goal of this team and we are all determined to achieve it. You have been in tremendous form of late and have added much solidity to the batting order. I have been doing well and it gives me immense satisfaction to contribute to the team’s success. Not only I, but a lot of other batters are doing the same. My biggest aim is to win matches for India and I am glad I have been able to do that. You are a very attacking batter with the ability to hit the ball long. Who is your batting idol? I learned most of my batting from my brother while growing up. But since I started watching cricket, I have come to admire Kumar Sangakkara and Matthew Hayden. Given my aggressive batting, it would appear that I put in a lot of power in my shots. But actually my batting is all about timing. I just look to time the ball and the rest takes care of itself. Mithali told me that after you and the other young batters have come in, she is able to play more freely. That is a lovely compliment from the captain, isn’t it? When I came into the team I could see that she was under tremendous pressure. She appeared calm but you could sense the pressure after she got out. Now she seems much calmer and it is a good sign for us that we are contributing to that – to let the legends of our game play freely. What is your take on India’s current batting order? From the time I came into the team, I think this is the best batting order we have had. We have good openers and the next three batters are well settled too. The good thing is that even if a couple of quick wickets fall, there are people who can come in and take the team to a big score (like we saw in the match against Bangladesh). Do you pick Mithali’s brain a lot about batting? The most powerful thing is to watch her bat. Yes, it is greatly enlightening to interact with her and talk to her about batting. But just watching her bat you can learn so much. I just watch her bat in the match and in the nets – how calm she is and how she prepares before a game. One thing that I try to implement is how she constructs her innings.