Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma’s explosive 162-run opening partnership in the 4th T20I of Sri Lanka Women’s tour of India on December 28 at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, rewrote the record books, propelling India Women to a mammoth 221 for 2 their highest T20I total and a 30-run victory that sealed a 4-0 series lead.
With Sri Lanka electing to field first, the Indian openers seized the opportunity, dismantling the bowling attack in a 92-ball blitz opening partnership that surpassed their own previous mark of 143 runs against West Indies in 2019, establishing a new Indian record for any wicket in WT20Is.
Mandhana’s elegant 80 off 48 balls included 11 boundaries and 3 sixes blended skillful drives with calculated aggression, while Shafali’s blistering 79 off 46 Balls filled with 12 boundaries and a massive six embodied fearlessness, her third consecutive half century in this series. India raced to 50 runs in 5.2 overs and 100 in 10.5 overs.
It also presented Mandhana and Shafali’s status as one of the most marvelous opening pairs in women’s T20I cricket, including this inning they have four 100 plus opening partnerships together, putting them joint third on the all-time list. Only UAE’s Esha Oza and Theertha Satish hold the lead on the all-time chart, alongside Australia’s Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney.
Yet Mandhana and Shafali’s enduring reliability truly stands out in their lifetime partnership totals, they now claim the pinnacle for most runs in Women’s T20Is with 3107 runs together. Healy and Mooney close to them comes second with with 2720 runs at third UAE’s Esha Oza and Theertha Satish are placed with 2579, followed by Esha Oza and Kavisha Egodage with 1976 runs and New Zealand’s Suzie Bates paired with Sophie Devine with 2556 runs.
When it comes to the highest number of 50 plus partnership by wicket in WT20Is, the Indian pair surges to the forefront with 24, eclipsing Bates and Devine’s 18 partnerships, Theertha Satish and Esha Oza’s 20 partnership, Healy and Mooney’s tally of 20 partnership and Egodage with Oza’s 14 partnership.
From the first ball, their partnership crackled with energy, Mandhana’s skillful timing weaving seamlessly with Shafali’s explosive power. They tore into the powerplay for 61 runs without a loss, surging to 85 for 0 by the 10th over. The dominance was clearly visible. 50 runs in just 32 balls, the hundred in 65 with Shafali and Mandhana timely rotating the strike, then 150 in just 86 balls.
Shafali’s fifty in 30 deliveries, Mandana’s half century in 35 balls. The inning was pure classy. It wrapped at 162 in the 15.2 over when Shafali fell, Mandhana soon after at 168 in 16.1, but the foundation was rock solid the damage was already done by them, letting Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh’s innings carry India past 200. Sri Lanka scraped 191 chasing 222, but that team effort had already sealed their fate.
Locking Mandhana and Shafali as an unshakeable core of India’s T20I side, this game changing duo has proved to be one of the best opening pairs for India in T20 Internationals. The command that this duo assumes as the series draws to a close, paints a picture of a golden age that is full of style, many shattered records, and pressure that is non-stop and leaves rivals reeling.
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