In a career-defining moment, India’s 29-year-old vice-captain and left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana stood just 18 runs shy of becoming the first Indian, and only the second player ever after New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, to surpass 4,000 T20I runs.
She got to the landmark during India’s run chase of 122, against Sri Lanka, led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu in the 5-match T20I series (21st to 30th December 2025) opener at Visakhapatnam. She entered the 4,000 T20I runs club in style with a boundary in the 5th over of the run chase, bowled by the opposition skipper Chamari Athapaththu.
Her promising knock (25 off 25 balls) was ended by the experienced Inoka Ranaweera, providing the 2nd breakthrough for her side in the 9th over of the run chase. Her knock included 4 boundaries. India took a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series with 8 wickets in hand and 32 balls to spare.
Remarkably, she is also 42 runs away from etching her name as just the fourth woman globally, after England’s Charlotte Edwards, India’s Mithali Raj, and Bates, to cross 10,000 international runs across formats. This milestone looms large as Mandhana spearheads India’s charge in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, from December 21-30 at venues including Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram.
This breakthrough year has seen Mandhana dominate, especially in ODIs, became the first player in women’s cricket to amass over 1,000 runs (1,362 runs), at a strike rate of at a strike rate of 109.92 and an average of 61.90 across 23 innings, featuring five half-centuries and five centuries. Her form powered India to their maiden senior-level ICC title, defeating South Africa by 52 runs.
Mandhana’s T20I journey, ignited with her debut on April 5, 2013, against Bangladesh at Vadodara, has yielded 4,007 runs in 148 innings at a blistering strike rate of 123.78 and an average of 29.90, including 31 half-centuries and one century. Her pinnacle arrived on June 28, 2025, smashing a maiden T20I ton of 112 off 62 balls (15 fours, 3 sixes) alongside Shafali Verma at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, propelling India to 210/5 and a 97-run rout of England.
Player of the Match honours capped the knock, underscoring her evolution into a white-ball dynamo now joining Suzie Bates’ in the 4,000-run club in this Sri Lanka T20I series opener, perfect prep for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, 2026.
As head coach, Amol Muzumdar’s blueprint propels India forward post their historic ODI World Cup; Mandhana’s landmark symbolises a new era. Spectators at Visakhapatnam witnessed history unfold for the Indian vice-captain.
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