GUWAHATI: India opener Smriti Mandhana has created history by becoming the first Indian batter to score more than 4,000 runs in Women's T20 International cricket.
The landmark was achieved during the opening match of the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka Women.
‘Eggs Sold in India Pose No Cancer Risk’: FSSAI Shuts Down Social Media Rumours
Mandhana reached the milestone at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday, December 21, scoring 25 runs in the match to take her overall tally to 4,007 runs in the shortest format. She is only the second woman cricketer globally to cross the 4,000-run mark in Women’s T20Is, after New Zealand’s Suzie Bates.
The Indian batter also set another record by becoming the fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls faced. Mandhana achieved the feat in 3,227 deliveries, surpassing Bates, who took 3,675 balls to reach the same mark.
Mandhana is also nearing another major career milestone in international cricket. She currently stands 42 runs short of completing 10,000 runs across formats, having scored 5,322 runs in One Day Internationals and 629 runs in Test cricket so far.
In the same match, Jemimah Rodrigues played a decisive role as India Women registered an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women to take a 1–0 lead in the series. Chasing a target of 122, Jemimah remained unbeaten on 69 off 44 balls, striking 10 fours as India completed the chase in 14.4 overs.
Her innings saw her equal Mithali Raj’s record of four 50-plus scores against Sri Lanka in Women’s T20Is. Mandhana and Jemimah added 54 runs for the second wicket, followed by an unbeaten 55-run partnership between Jemimah and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Earlier, Sri Lanka Women were restricted to 121/6, with Vishmi Gunaratne top-scoring with 39, while Deepti Sharma returned figures of 1/20.
With the win, India Women has taken a 1–0 lead in the T20I series.