Smriti Mandhana Equals Mithali Raj's Record with Seventh ODI Century

Smriti Mandhana slammed her seventh international century in ODIs, equaling Mithali’s record for the most hundreds by an Indian in ODIs (7) during the 2nd ODI of the ongoing India-South Africa multi-format bilateral series. In the first ODI, the left-handed batter from Maharashtra registered a century, reaching her milestone of 7000 ODI runs.

Smriti Mandhana achieved this milestone in her 84th innings, which came at a far better pace than Mithali Raj’s. Mithali Raj had scored her seventh ODI ton in her 180th innings. The expectation bar has often been raised whenever Smriti has donned the Indian jersey. This century marks her third against South Africa, showcasing her consistency and dominance over the Proteas. She reached her century off 103 balls before getting dismissed for 136, which is also her highest score across formats in international cricket.

India were put into bat first after taking a 1-0 lead in the 2nd ODI of three-match series. Smriti had a slow start, taking 17 balls to get off the mark. Mandhana’s innings was a blend of elegance and aggression; she took time initially to settle before dismantling the South African bowling lineup. She played an array of exquisite shots, hitting 18 boundaries and two sixes. She also became the first Indian batter to score consecutive ODI centuries. Smriti is well aware of the Bengaluru surface as she captains the Royal Challengers Bangalore side in the Women’s Premier League. Smriti Mandhana also jumped to joint-third in terms of centuries among openers in the ODI format.

Since her ODI debut in 2013, Mandhana has been a backbone of the Indian batting lineup. By matching Mithali Raj’s record, Mandhana has not only honored Raj’s legacy but has also set a platform for future cricketers to aspire to. Mithali’s seventh ODI ton came against Pakistan in the ICC Women’s One Day World Cup in India. She smashed an unbeaten 103 while India were chasing 193. Mithali played 232 ODI games for India and finished her career with seven hundreds and 64 fifties.

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Mandhana’s first ODI hundred came against Australia in Hobart during the Women’s Quadrangular Series in 2016, scoring 106 off 109 balls, which played a crucial role in India’s victory. Who would have thought back then that the left-handed batter would become one of the batting pillars in Indian women’s cricket.