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India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said she feels proud to reach 300 international matches, with the milestone coming during the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s. The 29-year-old also became the youngest woman in cricket history to achieve the feat and is the 12th woman overall to play 300 international games. Before the match, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and chose to bowl. India handed a Test debut to Shree Charani, while Yastika Bhatia returned to the playing XI. England gave debut caps to Alice Capsey and Mady Villiers.Mandhana revealed that she only found out about the milestone the night before the match. Reflecting on her journey, she recalled playing 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 about the 300th international match last night. As a player, you don’t really keep track of games across all formats. I remember playing the 2017 World Cup final here at Lord’s.“I didn’t have a great World Cup then, and I didn’t know if I’d get the chance to play for India again. So to come back and play my 300th international match at Lord’s, I couldn’t ask for a better venue.”She also spoke about leaving behind the disappointment of the T20 World Cup and focusing on the future.“We had a chance at Lord’s to qualify against Australia (in the T20 World Cup). We couldn’t take that opportunity, but that’s cricket. You have to keep moving on.“Whether you get a hundred or a zero, every time you go out there, you start your innings from zero. It’s the same with the team. You’re going to have good days and bad days, but we’ll always take it in stride and try to give our best for the country.”Mandhana said switching from T20 to red-ball cricket requires a change in mindset and returning to the basics.“Batting for long periods definitely helps, especially since we don’t play a lot of Test cricket. We did play the pink-ball Test in Perth before. Going back to Wormsley was great. I hadn’t been there since 2014, so it brought back old memories.“For me, the preparation is about adjusting after opening in T20 cricket, where you’re expected to score quickly at a high strike rate. In red-ball cricket, you need to watch the ball carefully. Going back to basics is very important. The preparation was all about doing the basic things right and spending long periods at the crease.”
