India opener Smriti becomes 1st player in women’s cricket to score 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year with her elegant 66-ball 80 against Australia; also crosses 5000 ODI runs in the bargain
Smriti Mandhana during her 66-ball 80 against Australia on Sunday. Pic/PTI
Elegance personified. These words sum up Smriti Mandhana’s batting style. But it’s her prowess in scoring runs with amazing consistency that sets her apart. One of the most graceful batters women’s cricket has seen, the left-handed opener from Maharashtra has been wowing fans the world over with her elegant stroke play and a string of records that go along with it. The latest is the biggest achievement of her decade-long career.
Achieves record with a six
Playing against Australia in a World Cup match at the VDCA Stadium here on Sunday, she needed 18 runs to become the first player in women’s cricket to notch up 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs. She attained the coveted mark when she hit Sophie Molineux for a six over long-on to write her name in the record books. She ultimately fell to the same bowler, but not before scoring a superb 80 off 66 balls. During the knock, she also became only the fifth woman cricketer to cross 5000 runs in ODIs in her 118th game. Former Indian captain Mithali Raj leads the list with 7805 in 232 matches. Moreover, Mandhana is only 367 runs away from becoming the second Indian to attain 10,000 international runs across three formats. Mithali heads the list with 10,868 runs among all-comers.
Four ton, four fifties this year
The season is far from over for the 29-year-old opener, who has already hit four centuries and four fifties in 2025, including a hundred in just 50 balls — the second-fastest in women’s ODIs behind Meg Lanning’s 45-ball effort. With potentially five World Cup matches to go, she can only enhance her reputation and record. Mandhana’s four centuries in 2025 are the joint second-most in a calendar year, behind only South Africa’s Tazmin Brits, who has scored five this year. The two can surely add a couple of hundreds before the World Cup comes to an end.
Most ODIs runs in a calendar year
1062 Smriti Mandhana (India, 2025)
970 Belinda Clark (Australia, 1997)
882 Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa, 2022)
880 Debbie Hockley (New Zealand, 1997)
853 Amy Satterthwaite (New Zealand, 2016)
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