India’s vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, has made a relatively subdued start to the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 30th September to 2nd November.
After a rare early dismissal for 8 off 10 balls in India’s tournament opener against Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Mandhana looked more settled in the next outing against Pakistan on 5th October at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Her 23 off 32 balls, laced with four boundaries, hinted at rediscovering touch before Fatima Sana’s disciplined Pakistan attack curtailed her progress. Though it has been a quiet beginning by her lofty standards, the 29-year-old’s recent form through 2025 signals that she is only an innings away from igniting India’s campaign.22
Mandhana arrived at this global showpiece in sublime one-day form. The Indian opener has dominated the ODI charts this year, amassing a remarkable 959 runs at a strike rate of 113.76 and an average of 59.93 from just 16 innings.
Her tally includes seven fifty-plus scores, three half-centuries and four centuries. She earned the Player of the Series award for scoring 300 runs in the three-match ODI series against Australia, led by skipper Alyssa Healy, ahead of the ongoing edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup.
Once again, underlined her status as one of the most consistent and destructive top-order batters in the women’s game. Significantly, she has equalled her own record for the most centuries scored by a player in a single calendar year.
Her standout knock of the year came in the third ODI against Ireland on 15th January 2025, when she hammered a breathtaking 135 off merely 80 deliveries at Rajkot. That innings, studded with 12 fours and 7 sixes, powered India to a colossal 304-run win, a result that embodied her dominance and control in the ODI arena.
With just 12 runs separating her from surpassing former Australian skipper Belinda Clark’s 970-run landmark for the highest single-year aggregate in women’s ODIs, Mandhana’s pursuit of history continues to be a central storyline amid this World Cup campaign.
As the group stage unfolds, Mandhana’s serene start may simply be the calm before one of her signature storm innings. The balance she brings through her experience, elegance, and hunger to perform suggests that India’s campaign could pivot on her return to big-scoring form.
With the record books and the home crowd’s expectations converging, all eyes now turn to India’s next fixture, against South Africa, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt on 9th October 2025, at Visakhapatnam. Smriti Mandhana has the chance to script another memorable chapter in her glittering ODI journey.
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