Smriti Mandhana has once again etched her name in cricketing folklore, breaking the long-standing record held by former Australian captain Belinda Clark for the most runs scored in a calendar year in women’s ODIs.
The 29-year-old Indian vice-captain entered India’s third fixture of the ongoing ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 against South Africa in Visakhapatnam on 9th October, just 11 short of Clark’s 1997 milestone of 970 runs. Mandhana comfortably surpassed the benchmark with a composed 23 off 32 balls, carrying her tally for the year to 982 runs at a strike rate of 112.22 and an average of 57.76 in 17 innings. She got there in style, smashing a maximum on the first ball of the 8th over bowled by Ayabonga Khaka, a reflection of remarkable consistency and dominance through 2025.
Mandhana’s record-setting year has been a blend of elegance, aggression, and maturity that defines her stature as one of India’s most reliable match-winners. Her 2025 tally now includes 3 half-centuries and 4 centuries in the ODI format, reaffirming her adaptability against varied oppositions and conditions.
The hallmark of her dominance came earlier this year on 15th January 2025, when she lit up Rajkot with a blistering 135 off just 80 deliveries against Ireland, an innings laced with 12 boundaries and 7 sixes. That match, which India won by a mammoth 304 runs, underlined not only her composure but also her hunger to convert starts into monumental contributions.
Throughout the year, Mandhana’s stroke-making fluency has provided India with consistent starts, whether chasing or setting targets. She has been central to India’s batting cohesion, tactfully rotating the strike while dispatching loose deliveries with signature ease through cover and mid-wicket, her trademark zones of dominance.
Though Mandhana’s overall numbers this year have been sensational, she has had a relatively quiet start in the ongoing 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 30th September to 2nd November. In India’s opener at Guwahati against Sri Lanka, Smriti managed 8 off 10 balls before rain truncated the encounter, which India eventually won by 59 runs. In the second fixture at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on 5th October, she added 23 off 32 deliveries in India’s comprehensive 88-run win over Pakistan.
During the third match of the tournament at Visakhapatnam against South Africa, Smriti once again fell after a promising start, scoring 23 off 32 balls before Nonkululeko Mlaba broke the 55-run opening stand alongside Pratika Rawal in the 11th over. With 54 runs across three innings, she currently averages 18 at a strike rate of 72.97 in the tournament. However, her broader trajectory across the year ensures she remains India’s most dependable top-order batter, with her form likely to determine India’s fortunes in this home campaign led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Since making her ODI debut on 10th April 2013 against Bangladesh at Ahmedabad, Smriti Mandhana has steadily evolved into the pillar of India’s batting unit. Over 111 innings, she has accumulated 4,942 runs at an average of 47.06 and a strike rate of 89.61, including 32 half-centuries and 13 centuries. Her tally of centuries places her joint second alongside New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, trailing only former Australian captain Meg Lanning, who holds the record with 15.
Mandhana’s career-defining knocks, like her 136 off 120 balls against South Africa in June 2024 at Bengaluru, featuring 18 fours and two sixes, reflect her capacity to lead from the front even against high-quality attacks. Her consistency across both hemispheres has positioned her among the elite modern-day batters in women’s ODI cricket.
Breaking Belinda Clark’s 28-year record is more than a personal milestone; it signifies a generational shift in India’s women’s cricket narrative. Mandhana’s achievement embodies the rise of Indian batting dominance on the global stage, where elegance meets execution. With several more fixtures left in 2025, the southpaw’s record tally looks poised to grow further, setting an even higher benchmark for the next generation.
As the Visakhapatnam crowd applauded her latest chapter of excellence, Smriti Mandhana not only surpassed a legend but also reaffirmed her place as one of Indian cricket’s greatest contemporary icons, a vice-captain whose willow keeps rewriting the sport’s history, one milestone at a time.
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