Indian opening batter Smriti Mandhana has etched her name into the history books of global cricket by becoming the highest run-scorer in women's T20 international cricket. She secured this milestone during India's Asian Games semifinal encounter against Bangladesh. Entering the fixture, the prolific left-hander required just seven runs to eclipse the previous record held by New Zealand stalwart Suzie Bates. Mandhana reached the historic mark in style during the third over of the match, dispatching consecutive deliveries from Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter to the boundary for back-to-back fours.
Blistering Knock Against Bangladesh Sets New Benchmark
Mandhana displayed supreme aggressive intent from the start of the innings, striking 37 runs off just 19 deliveries. Her rapid knock featured five boundaries and two maximums. Although her stay at the crease ended at 37, she had already sealed the record before her dismissal, taking pole position on the all-time run charts in women's T20 internationals. Following this innings, her career tally in the format stands at 4788 runs. Suzie Bates now holds second position with 4758 runs, followed by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur in third place with 4287 runs and Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu in fourth with 4282 runs.
All-Format Dominance and Century Record
Mandhana's supremacy extends across the entire spectrum of international cricket, as she also leads the run-scoring charts across all three formats combined. Her aggregate tally in international cricket now stands at an extraordinary 10987 runs. This cumulative total includes 788 runs in Test cricket, 5411 runs in One-Day Internationals, and 4788 runs in T20 internationals. In the combined all-format standings, Bates occupies third place with 10740 runs. Furthermore, Mandhana holds the record for the most international centuries in women's cricket, a feat she cemented recently during the group stage of the Women's Asia Cup with a century against Hong Kong, China.
Shafali Verma Ton Seals Emphatic Win and Gold Medal Clash
Mandhana's initial onslaught enabled India to record one of their most explosive powerplay performances in women's T20 international history. At the close of the powerplay overs, India stood at 72 for 1, which marks their fourth-highest powerplay total in the format. India's top three powerplay scores remain 77 for no loss against the West Indies in 2019, 75 for 4 against Sri Lanka in 2018, and 73 for 2 recorded against England earlier this year. In the same semifinal match, Shafali Verma notched a milestone of her own, smashing her maiden T20 career century off just 49 deliveries. Powered by Verma's blistering hundred, India crushed Bangladesh by 114 runs to advance into the gold medal final against Sri Lanka.
