In a career-defining moment during the 4th T20I against Sri Lanka on December 28, 2025, at Thiruvananthapuram, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana became only the second Indian after Mithali Raj to surpass 10,000 runs in women’s international cricket.
The 29-year-old left-hander reached the landmark in 281 matches, the fastest ever, driving a single off Nimasha Madushani in the 7th over to etch her name alongside global greats like Charlotte Edwards, Mithali Raj, and Suzie Bates. Her explosive 80 off 48 balls, her 32nd T20I half-century, propelled India to a record 221/2, sealing a series-clinching performance in the ongoing five-match bilateral against Chamari Athapaththu’s Sri Lanka, with India leading 3-0 beforehand.
Mandhana’s post-match interview revealed a mix of humility, self-reflection, and team-first ethos, blending joy with the relentless drive that defines her. Laughing off the fuss, she quipped, “Girls are going to kill me. After the World Cup, they’ll be like, what do we give her now? I hope this is my last interview of the year.” Yet, beneath the humour lay a cricketer grounded in reality: “In cricket, again, you have to start from zero. The scoreboard is always zero for zero. It’s never what you’ve done in the last match or previous series.”
Mandhana’s journey spans formats with mastery. In T20Is, since her 2013 debut against Bangladesh, she has 4,102 runs in 157 matches at a strike rate of 124.22 and an average of 29.94, including 32 fifties and a century. She hit 4,000 T20I runs earlier in this series, 25 off 25 in the opener, becoming the first Indian and second after Suzie Bates. Currently, she’s India’s second-highest scorer with 120 runs at 133.33 strike rate and 30 average over four innings, featuring a half-century.
ODIs showcase her zenith: 5,322 runs in 117 matches at 90.52 strike rate and 48.38 average, with 34 fifties and 14 tons. In 2025, she blazed 1,362 runs, the first woman over 1,000, in 23 innings at 109.92 strike rate and 61.90 average, including five each of fifties and centuries. She led India and finished second overall in the 13th ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, where India crushed South Africa by 52 runs to win their maiden ICC title.
In Tests, her 629 runs in 12 innings at a 63.72 strike rate and 57.18 average include two centuries and three fifties, anchoring India’s red-ball resurgence.
On internal expectations, she differentiated formats: “T20 is slightly in a way where you can’t be extremely hard with yourself. I’m really, really tough on myself with one-day cricket and test cricket.” Addressing the ODI World Cup, she called it “the biggest thing for women’s cricket,” but added, “You can’t be thinking about only successes, this team being this young, we are a work in progress always.”
Rating India’s 2025 campaign critically at “7 on 10,” she highlighted growth areas: “Fitness-wise, fielding-wise, running between the wickets-wise, power hitting, execution of bowling plans.” Praising the bowlers, “Because of their blessings, I could do well”, she turned gratitude outward: “All the fans who’ve supported us, it’s just been an amazing year for women’s cricket. I hope we just keep making them proud.”
With the series finale looming on December 30 at Thiruvananthapuram (7 PM IST), Mandhana eyes the 10th ICC Women’s T20 World Cup (England and Wales, June 12–July 5, 2026). Domestically, she’ll captain Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 4th Women’s Premier League (January 9–February 5, 2026), starting at DY Patil Stadium against Harmanpreet Kaur’s defending champions Mumbai Indians. Having ended RCB’s 17-year title drought in 2024, she’s primed for more.
(Quotes Sourced from BCCI)
Loves all things female cricket