Summary: Smriti at the Wicket
This text is based in 2016, when Kabir’s father reads the news that Smriti
Mandhana has been selected for the International Cricket Council Women’s
Team of the Year. Kabir wants to know more, so his parents tell him all
about Smriti Mandhana. She is a young cricketer from Sangli, Maharashtra.
Her elder brother Shravan used to play for the Maharashtra Under-19
team. Occasionally, his name would appear in newspapers for scoring high
runs.
Smriti also wanted to see her name in the newspapers. She started
practising cricket with her father. Her father soon realised that she was a
talented young player. She was chosen for the Maharashtra Under-15 when
she was only nine years old. Her father found a coach for her, called Anant
Tambwekar. Smriti practised before and after school, and built a cement
pitch with her savings to practise in the rainy season. She is right-handed,
but plays left-handed and prefers to be the opening batswoman because it
helps her plan her game. Her strong point is timing.
One of the highlights of her career has been a record run of 224 against the
Gujarat Under-19s, when she was playing with a bat autographed by Rahul
Dravid. She played her first Test match in England in 2014, where her score
of 51 runs helped her team win.
It was the first time in eight years that the Indian women’s cricket team
was playing a Test match. In 2016, Smriti became the second Indian
cricketer to play for the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia—the first
was Harmanpreet Kaur. That year, the ICC announced the Women’s Team
of the Year for the first time, to appreciate the best performances of women
cricketers from all over the world over the past year. Smriti Mandhana was
the only Indian in the team.
This text follows two paths. The major journey is that of Smriti Mandhana,
from her childhood, when she watched her brother play, to her adulthood,
when she is a promising cricketer herself and making new records. The
other, secondary journey is that of Kabir, a young boy, who goes from
knowing nothing about Smriti Mandhana to becoming her fan. The text
uses an informal conversation between the boy and his parents to tell the
boy—and the reader—about Smriti Mandhana’s life and work.
Smriti Mandhana is portrayed as an ambitious, talented and hard-working
person, who is all set to become a successful cricketer. The parents discuss
the landmarks in her career so far as well as some of the more unofficial
facts, like how she saved money to build a pitch. This reflects how people
discuss and remember famous personalities—by noting their successes as
well as the more personal details. The text is also inspirational, as it holds
up Smriti Mandhana as a role model and shows how children can work
hard to fulfil their childhood dreams.
UNIT 10 SMRITI AT THE WICKET
Embedded Questions 1:
● Harmanpreet Kaur
● New Zealand, West Indies, England and India
Embedded Questions 2:
● ‘Opening bat’ refers to the cricketer who bats first in a match.
● ‘Under-19 team’ refers to a team where all the players are less than nineteen years old.
Embedded Questions 3:
Free response.
Embedded Questions 4:
Suggested answer (accept any logical answer): Smriti carried the autographed bat because she considered
it to be a lucky bat. However, she did not always use it because it was too special to be used regularly.
Comprehension
A. 1. Smriti Mandhana played her debut Test match in England in 2014.
2. Smriti prefers to be the opening batswoman in a match because it helps her plan how to play
the game.
3. Smriti is right-handed, but she plays left-handed.
4. When Smriti was younger, she used to practise in the morning before school, and have net
sessions in the evening after school. In 2016, she was studying for a degree in commerce as well as
playing professional cricket.
5. Smriti’s coaches told her that her strong point was timing. This means that the strongest or the
best quality of Smriti’s game was her ability to understand when and how she should move during
a game.
6. a. The bat that was autographed by Rahul Dravid for Smriti’s brother Shravan.
b. The speaker, Kabir, thinks that it is lucky because Smriti scored a record run of 224 when she
played with that bat.
B. 1. 2016 was a good year for Smriti Mandhana because that year, she was selected for the ICC
Women’s Team of the Year. She was the only Indian in that team. Smriti was also selected to play for
the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia in 2016. She was the second Indian cricketer playing for
the WBBL.
2. a. Smriti’s first Test match where she played against England in 2014.
b. After watching the match, the listener, Kabir’s father, felt that Smriti would be a successful
cricketer.
c. The match was special because it was the first time Smriti was playing a Test match for India.
She scored 51 runs, and it helped India win the match. It was all the more special because the
Indian women’s cricket team was playing a Test after eight years.
3. Shravan Mandhana is Smriti’s elder brother. He used to play for the Maharashtra Under-19 team.
When Shravan was a cricketer, Smriti used to watch her brother play. Sometimes, when Shravan
scored high runs, his name appeared in newspapers. Smriti used to collect those newspaper
articles. She also wanted to see her name in the newspapers. So she started practising cricket with
her father.
4. When Smriti was very young, she used to practise cricket with her father. Her father realised that
she could be a good cricketer when he saw that she could hit the ball well. She was not afraid to
play with older players. And she was chosen for the Maharashtra Under-15 state side when she
was only nine years old.
5. We know that Smriti worked really hard to be a good cricketer because she balanced her studies
and her cricket. With her savings, she built a cement pitch where she could practise even in the
rainy season. She changed the style of her game from the style of Matthew Hayden to the style of
Kumar Sangakkara taking her coaches’ advice.
6. a. Kabir is referred to as Smriti Mandhana’s new fan because he had decided to watch the
matches whenever Smriti played for the World Cup, and cheer for her.
b. Kabir became Smriti’s fan when he heard all about Smriti from his parents—how well Smriti has
always played, how she made a record run of 224, how she helped her team win a Test match
against England and how she made a record in 2016 by being the only Indian to be selected for
the ICC Women’s Team of the Year.
C. Suggested answers (accept any logical answer):
1. Yes, different people helped and inspired Smriti to become a good cricketer. Her brother Shravan
inspired her to become a cricketer when she was just a child. If she had not seen him play well, she
may not have wanted to be a cricketer herself. Her father helped her practise and encouraged her.
He found a coach for her—Anant Tambwekar, who guided Smriti. Smriti was also inspired by other
cricketers like Kumar Sangakkara, Matthew Hayden and Rahul Dravid. She wanted to play as well
as them, so she worked hard and earned her success.
2. The qualities which must have helped Smriti become a good cricketer are discipline, patience,
dedication and ambition. She was ambitious as she wanted to become a successful professional
cricketer. She was patient and dedicated because she balanced her studies and cricket. She kept
practising for many years and was ready to change her style in order to play better. She would
have to be disciplined to stay fit so that she can play well.
Grammar
A. 2. James said that he was watching The Sound of Music.
3. Jyoti said that they were going to the park.
4. Sunny said that he had completed his homework for that day.
5. Mother said that she had heard it in the news the previous day.
6. He asked Surbhi if he had left his handkerchief there.
B. 2. Saina Nehwal was her favourite player
3. parents liked badminton, too
4. father preferred football
5. she played any sport
6. she would take swimming lessons from the next week
Vocabulary
A. 1. exclaimed 2. remarked 3. declare 4. explains 5. suggested
B. 1. a 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. a
Writing
Suggested answer (accept any logical answer):
A. To: esha96@yahoomail.com
Subject: FIFA final match
Message:
Dear Esha,
Did you watch the match last night? Mummy gave me permission to stay up late and watch it, as it
was the final match of the football World Cup. As you know, Germany was playing against Argentina,
and I was supporting Germany, which is always my favourite team.
Neither team scored a goal in the first half. I was feeling really anxious during the second half. Still
no one scored a goal! Then, finally, in the extra time, Mario Gotze (I don’t know how to say his name)
scored a goal and Germany won! In the extra time! Can you believe it?
It was a thrilling match. If you missed it, then do try to watch the replay if they show it on TV. I am an
even bigger fan of Germany now.
See you soon.
Love,
Joey
B. Selected for the school team!! So I’ll play in the inter-school tournament this year! Yes! Thanks for
practising with me, Ma! J
Listening
Listening text
Two players are needed to play book cricket. You will also need a book, and paper and pencil to note
down the scores. You can toss a coin to decide who will be the first player. The player will hold the
book. He or she will open the book at any page and look at the even page number. The last digit of
the page number is the score. For example, if the player opens the book on page sixty-two, then the
score is two. Because the player only looks at the even page numbers, the score will be zero, two, four,
six or eight. Two, four and six are valid scores. If the number is eight, then it will count as a single run.
If the number is zero, then the player is out. It will be the second player’s turn. When both players are
out, the player with the greater score will win the game.
Answer:
2. two 3. even 4. last 5. six 6. zero
SMIRITI AT THE WICKET
A. Answer in brief.
1. What news impressed Father?
Ans: Father was greatly impressed by the news he read about Smriti Mandhana. The news item
said that she was the only Indian to be selected for the ICC women’s team of the Year. He was
happy that 2016 was a good year for Smriti.
2. What are ICC and WBBL? Why is it prestigious to get selected for them?
Ans: ICC is the International Cricket Council and the WBBL is the Women’s Big Bash League. It
is the Australian domestic Twenty 20 competition. It is prestigious to get selected for the same
because very few Indians get selected. The only Indian who was selected before Smriti was the
Punjabi cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur.
B. Answser in detail.
1. Who did Smriti admire as a cricketer? Why did she not follow his style?
Ans: Smriti had great admiration for the Australian cricketer Mathew Hayden. She wanted to play
like him. But her strong point did not go with Hayden’s style. Different players had different styles.
Smriti’s coaches felt that Smriti’s timing was excellent. She understood very well when and how
she should move during a game. Hayden’s strong point was different. Hence she was advised to
follow Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakara’s style who had an excellent sense of timing. Hence
Smriti changed her game style.
2. Why was the Test debut in England important for Smriti? How did she make a mark for herself
after that?
Ans: Her Test debut in England was very special for Smriti because it was the first time Smriti was
playing a Test match for India. She scored 51 runs and it helped India win the match. It was more
special because Indian women’s cricket team was playing a Test after eight years. After that Test
debut Smriti started playing International cricket following her own style. She always preferred
to be the opening bat as it helped her plan how to play. Though right-handed, she played lefthanded because her father admired left-handed batsmen.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. “I have watched Smriti’s game,” said Father, folding the newspaper. “She deserves this success.”
a. Who speaks the above line? When does the speaker say this?
b. What was the success mentioned above?
c. Why does the speaker feel so?
Ans: a. Father speaks the above line after reading a news item.
b. The success mentioned above is Smriti’s selection for the ICC Women’s Team of the year.
c. The speaker feels so because he felt that she was really talented and hard working and
had a style that could be compared to the top International batsmen.
2. He used to play for the Maharashtra Under-19 team. It was he who inspired Smriti to become a
cricketer.
a. Who is He in the above lines?
b. How did he inspire Smriti?
c. Who else helped her? How?
Ans: a. He refers to Shravan Mandhana, Smriti’s elder brother.
b. Some times when Shravan scored high runs, his name appeared in newspapers. Smriti
wanted to see her name too in the news papers. So she started practicing seriously to
become a cricketer.
c. Initially, her father helped her and she practised a lot with him. But later, as her father got
too busy to help her, he found a coach for her who was Anant Tambwekar.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)
1. How did Rahul Dravid’s autographed bat help Smriti?
[Free response] Suggested answer: The bat may not have helped her directly. Smriti often carried
the autographed bat in her kit. She did not use it. She probably was sentimental about it. But she
used it when she played for the Maharashtra Under -19 against Gujarat in Vadodara and scored
her record run of 224. Thus the bat proved lucky for her.
2. How did Kabir become a fan of Smriti?
Ans: Kabir was listening to his parents discuss Smriti’s achievements and her hard work and
dedication in becoming a cricketer. Kabir must have been aware of men cricketers and might
have been a fan of some of them. But after he heard about Smriti, he must have been impressed
by her and he became her fan too.
E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)
Do you think Smriti is capable of getting her team the world cup? Give reasons.
[Free response] Suggested answer: From the text we understand that Smriti is a dedicated cricketer
and worked hard to reach the top position in the women’s cricket team. She also has a style that can
be compared to famous International men cricketers. Her coaches observed that her strong point was
timing and she knew very well how she should move during a game. This would definitely add to the
run score. Of course I know there are more talented cricketers who she may have to face during the
world cup. So it is important that she is given the best coaching and guidance before the World Cup
to enable her to use her strength to win The World Cup.
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