india vice captain Mandana Said she was proud to have played 300 international matches, a milestone achieved in the first women’s Test at Lord’s. The 29-year-old also became the youngest woman in cricket history to achieve the feat and the 12th woman to play 300 international matches. Before the game, England captain Nat Seaver-Brent won the toss and chose to bowl. India handed the debut to Shree Charani while Yastika Bhatia returned to the starting XI. Alice Capsie and Maddy Villiers made their England debuts.Mandala revealed she didn’t know about the milestone until the night before the game. Looking back on her journey, she recalled playing in the 2017 Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s and how uncertain she felt about her future after a difficult tournament.“I actually got to know the 300th international last night. As a player you don’t really follow all forms of the game. I remember playing in the 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s.“I hadn’t played in a great World Cup and I didn’t know if I would get the chance to play for India again. So, to be back at Lord’s for my 300th international match, I couldn’t have asked for a better venue.”She also talked about putting aside the disappointment of the T20 World Cup and focusing on the future.“We had a chance against Australia at Lord’s (T20 World Cup). We couldn’t take that chance, but that’s cricket. You have to keep going.“Whether you score a hundred or zero, every time you go out on the field, you start every inning from scratch. It’s the same for the team. You’re going to have good days and bad days, but we always take it in stride and try to do our best for the country.”Mandana said the switch from T20 to red-ball cricket requires a change of mentality and a return to fundamentals.“Having a long batting definitely helps, especially because we don’t play a lot of Test cricket. We did play a pink-ball Test in Perth before. It’s great to be back at Walmsley. I haven’t been there since 2014, so it brought back old memories.“For me, preparation is all about adjusting after an opening in T20 cricket, where you need to score runs quickly with a high strike rate. In red-ball cricket, you need to watch the ball carefully. It’s very important to go back to the basics. Preparation is about getting the basic things right and spending a long time at the crease.”
