Waiting for the Smriti, Laura stamp

Elegance meets efficiency

- Samreen Razzaqui

For years, the careers of Smriti Mandhana and Laura Wolvaardt have mirrored each other. Elegant stroke-makers and openers who made timing their forte, both carry the weight of their teams’ expectations.

On Sunday, as India and South ‘Africa walk out for the World Cup final, the symmetry will run deeper than ever. Both recently crossed 5,000 ODI runs, have been the heartbeat of their side’s campaigns and have risen from slow starts to peak at the right time. So similar is their trajectory that they also find themselves part of the leadership group — Wolvaardt leads South Africa while Mandhana is India vice-captain.

More importantly, their success, even as echoes of the power game grow louder, isan example of what result-oriented batting still looks like. Touch, temperamentand consistency still remain important amidst talk of aggressive intent.