After having scores of 8, 23 and 23, Smriti came back into top form by hitting 80 against Australia in Visakhapatnam, though it went in vain as India lost the game by three wickets. The hosts will be hoping Smriti and skipper Harmanpreet will be amongst runs when India take on England in a marquee game at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cShe hasn\u2019t changed much from when I first played against her, which says a lot considering the level of fame she has now. She\u2019s still the same old Smriti. She\u2019s also incredibly hard to keep quiet with the bat, which will be a big challenge for us when we play India.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHarmanpreet and Smriti are very different characters; chalk and cheese, really. Harman wears her heart on her sleeve. She brings passion, energy, and competitiveness. She\u2019s a captain I\u2019ve respected for how she plays the game and takes people along with her. It\u2019s going to be a tough test against India; they\u2019re playing really well at the moment, and Harman will be key for the Indian team,\u201d said Heather on JioStar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Heather also recalled the first meeting with Smriti and how she remained humble despite all the adulation coming her way. \u201cI remember playing against Smriti in her first ODI series. When I saw her playing, I thought, \u2018Wow, this girl is going to be quite good.\u2019 Since then, I\u2019ve admired how she\u2019s progressed as a batter and how she\u2019s always carried herself with such calmness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThat calmness is something I also value as a cricketer, and I have a huge amount of respect for her. I\u2019ve seen her grow as a leader as well. I played with her in England for Western Storm, in Hobart, and later at RCB under her captaincy in what was a really tough first WPL season for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cShe found that year difficult, but I gained a lot of respect for how she came back stronger the next season and found her feet. Smriti is a proper rock star in India. Just being around her and seeing how many people recognise her is crazy, but she deals with it all while staying humble,\u201d she elaborated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India had earlier beaten England 2-1 in an away ODI series earlier this year and skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt feels Sunday\u2019s clash will make for an exciting watch. \u201cWith Harmanpreet, if you put one plan in place for her batting, she can easily get into the zone where that doesn\u2019t really matter, whatever\u2019s coming down will go to the boundary anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cShe found that year difficult, but I gained a lot of respect for how she came back stronger the next season and found her feet. Smriti is a proper rock star in India. Just being around her and seeing how many people recognise her is crazy, but she deals with it all while staying humble,\u201d she elaborated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSmriti, meanwhile, is such an elegant batter, very easy on the eye and a joy to watch when you\u2019re not playing against her. Every team has brilliant batters, and I think this tournament will be full of quality. Hopefully, we\u2019ll have some great matches, which will be exciting for world cricket,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n