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India women’s national cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana got some special class ahead of her team’s biggest match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. After India’s five-wicket win over Bangladesh in Manchester on June 25, Smriti Mandhana had a golden opportunity to learn from one of the greatest batsmen the game has ever seen, Matthew Hayden.
As India women’s national cricket team is set to face Australia women’s national cricket team in an important match at Lord’s on Sunday (June 28), she wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to improve her batting and the former Australia opener welcomed her with open arms. Recently, Smriti Mandhana was included in the elite list along with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Alcaraz.
Smriti Mandhana’s 20-minute masterclass with Matthew Hayden before the clash with Australia goes viral
Smriti Mandhana visited Matthew Hayden after India’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against Bangladesh and the two spent about 20 minutes discussing various aspects of batting at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.
Hayden, who is part of the commentary team for the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, shared her experience with the Indian vice-captain, having grown up admiring and idolizing the great Australian batsman. He talked about moving the feet better, keeping timing right and maintaining confidence while batting against good bowlers.
When Hayden was giving batting lessons to Mandhana, the Indian female superstar was listening to him carefully. The former Australian opener explained how to control the innings and put pressure on the opposition team. His on-ground class garnered a lot of attention and went viral online.
Two great. One language- batting. #SmritiMandhana is learning from one of the best players of the game, Matthew Hayden.
Watch their next performance in ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup 2026 | #INDvAUS | Sun, June 28, 6 pm pic.twitter.com/W5dz1eHOgu
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 25, 2026
Smriti Mandhana spent about 20 minutes in probing the mind of Australian legend Matthew Hayden.
India will face Australia in a do-or-die match on Sunday. #CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/GtkLUmpLf3
– Women’s Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 25, 2026
After continuous failures, Smriti Mandhana turns to childhood hero Matthew Hayden
Following some of her poor performances in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Mandhana turned to Hayden for some vital advice. In his last two matches, the star batsman scored only 17 runs off 12 balls against South Africa and then only 8 runs off 6 balls against Bangladesh.
Well, this meeting was a personally special moment for Mandhana. Hayden has been one of his favorite cricketers since childhood. She has often talked about watching him bat while growing up and admiring the way he fearlessly attacked the bowlers from the very first ball.
She openly reiterated her admiration for Hayden during her Women’s Big Bash League stint with Brisbane Heat. At the time, the Indian vice-captain had said that he had always loved watching Australia’s great bowlers dominate the bowling attack and had tried to learn from their approach.
India is eyeing to reach the semi-finals directly against Australia
Meanwhile, the India women’s national cricket team has been in great form at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and is placed second in the Group A table with 6 points from 4 matches so far, behind Australia, who have been in great form by winning all their four games so far in the tournament.
India now have only one match left to secure a place in the semi-finals and that too against the strong Australian team on Sunday. If they manage to defeat them, the Indian team will not have to depend on the results of other teams for semi-final qualification.
South Africa can give a tough competition to India, because they also have 6 points and one game left in the group stage, while the other teams have already been eliminated.
