In the ongoing multi-format tour against Australia, Smriti Mandhana once again proved why she is one of the most complete and inspiring batters in international cricket today. With India Women already celebrating a historic 2–1 win in the T20I leg of the series, Mandhana’s batting has stood out as the backbone of the team’s performances across formats.
Her ability to rise to the occasion in Australia — widely regarded as one of the toughest batting environments in world cricket, has delivered some of the most memorable individual innings by an Indian woman on Australian soil in recent years. She has the highest scores for an Indian batter on Australian soil, across formats.
The first of her iconic knocks on Australian soil came almost five years ago, in the only Test match of the India Women’s tour of Australia in 2021. At the Carrara Oval, Mandhana played a patient and masterful innings of 127 runs, which remains the highest score by a visiting batter in women’s Test cricket in Australia.
Her knock was characterized by exquisite timing, elegant drives through the off-side, and a calm temperament that carried India to a strong position despite the relentless pressure of Australian conditions. This century was historic not only because of her individual brilliance but also because it marked only the second Test hundred by an Indian woman against Australia, the first coming decades earlier.
In the ODI format, Mandhana has also produced some of her finest work against Australia, even when victory proved elusive for India. One of her most memorable ODI knocks came at the WACA Ground in Perth when she scored a classy 105 off 109 balls while chasing a challenging total. In that game India were in serious trouble early on, yet Mandhana anchored the innings beautifully, timing the ball with precision and punishing anything loose.
While India ultimately fell short in that match, her 105 wiped away early scoring woes and showcased her ability to play a long, composed innings against top quality opposition bowling on true Australian pitches.
Fast forward to tonight the decider of the T20I series in Adelaide, and Mandhana once again delivered on the biggest stage. With the series tied and the pressure mounting, she played an explosive innings of 82 runs off just 55 balls, an innings that was pivotal in India posting a competitive total of 176/6.
Her aggressive stroke play and ability to find boundaries at crucial moments set the tone for the India innings, and she shared a vital partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues that kept the momentum firmly with the visitors. India went on to defend that total and win the match by 17 runs, sealing the T20I series 2–1. Mandhana’s performance in the final game earned her Player of the Match honours, and underscored her importance as the leading run-scorer for India in the T20I series with 129 runs overall.
What stands out across all three of these innings is not just the runs scored, but the context in which they were scored. Her Test century came in a format where patience and technique are tested daily against skillful bowling and variable bounce. Her ODI hundred in Perth came in a high-pressure chase on a surface that traditionally favours pace and sharp movement.
In the shortest format, her T20 knock in Adelaide came with the series on the line in a decider, requiring not only skill but clutch temperament. In all three, Mandhana demonstrated a remarkable blend of timing, shot selection, strike rotation, and mental fortitude — hallmarks of a world-class batter.
Taken together, these three innings reflect more than individual excellence. Performances like these are shaping India’s reputation abroad and reinforcing belief within the squad that success in Australia is not an exception but an achievable standard. As the current tour has shown, when Mandhana finds rhythm, India’s ambitions across formats grow significantly stronger.
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