Watch: Smriti Mandhana gifts mobile phone to specially abled Sri Lankan fan after Women’s Asia Cup 2024 game

Smriti Mandhana. (Source – Sri Lanka Cricket)

India Women started their Women’s Asia Cup 2024 campaign on a high as they outclassed Pakistan by seven wickets. Smriti Mandhana continued her sound form as she scored 45 off 31 chasing a meagre target of 109 runs. She stitched an important stand of 85 runs for the first wicket with Shafali Verma as India chased down the target in just 14.1 overs. After the game, Mandhana, in a heartwarming gesture handed over a mobile phone to a specially-abled local Sri Lankan fan.

The star India batter after the game walked up to the young girl, Adeesha Herath, in a wheelchair accompanied by her mother. She greeted her and asked whether she liked a mobile phone before presenting her with one. After the meeting, the girl’s mother expressed that the move was unexpected as they were at the stadium just to enjoy the much with not much expectation.

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“We came to watch the match unexpectedly, as my daughter wanted to go for the match. We met Mandhana madam from Indian team and my daughter received a phone from her. It was unexpected and my daughter is so lucky to receive this gift from her,” she said.

“Adeesha Herath’s love for cricket brought her to the stadium, despite all the challenges. The highlight of her day? A surprise encounter with her favourite cricketer, Smriti Mandhana, who handed her a mobile phone as a token of appreciation,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a tweet.

Here’s the video of Mandhana’s gesture toward girl:

India dominate white ball cricket at home 

India entered the tournament on the back of a dominant win over South Africa in the multi-format series. They whitewashed the visitors in the ODI series by 3-1 and won the One-Off Test before levelling the T20I series by 1-1. For the unversed, they have won the Asia Cup title seven times before defending the title in Sri Lanka with seven other teams in contention.