Smriti Mandhana Breaks Record to Become Leading Run-Scorer in Women's Cricket
Historic Achievement for Smriti Mandhana
In a remarkable display of talent, Smriti Mandhana has made history by surpassing Mithali Raj's record to become the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket across all formats. This milestone was achieved during a Group A match of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 held at the Dubai International Stadium, where Mandhana scored an impressive 124 runs off just 64 balls against Hong Kong.
With this innings, Mandhana has now accumulated a total of 10,880 runs, overtaking Raj's previous record of 10,868 runs. The current top five run-scorers in women's international cricket are Mandhana, Mithali Raj, New Zealand's Suzie Bates with 10,740 runs, England's Charlotte Edwards with 10,273 runs, and West Indies' Stafanie Taylor with 10,007 runs.
Mithali Raj, the former captain of the Indian team, took to social media to congratulate Mandhana on her achievement. She expressed her admiration for Mandhana's journey from a budding player to one of India's finest batters. Raj stated, "Well deserved, @mandhana_smriti! I’ve watched you grow from a young player into one of the finest batters India has produced. To see you go past my record and become the highest run-scorer in international cricket is a moment I’m genuinely proud of. Here’s to many more runs and milestones. Keep going!"
Mandhana's record-breaking performance also set a new benchmark for the highest individual score in Women's T20 Asia Cup history, surpassing Chamari Athapaththu's unbeaten 119 runs against Malaysia in 2024. The top five highest scores in this tournament include Mithali Raj's 97 not out against Malaysia in 2018, Harshitha Samarawickrama's 81 against Thailand in 2022, and Shafali Verma's 81 against Nepal in 2024.
Additionally, Mandhana has joined Harmanpreet Kaur as the only Indian women to have scored centuries in T20 internationals, with her 124 against Hong Kong following her previous score of 112 against England in 2025. Harmanpreet's 103 against New Zealand during the 2018 T20 World Cup remains the other century on this list.
In the match against Hong Kong, Mandhana's explosive innings propelled India Women to a convincing 137-run victory. Her innings included 14 fours and seven sixes, helping India set a target of 193/5 after being invited to bat first. She formed a solid opening partnership of 74 runs with Shafali Verma, who contributed 28 runs off 17 balls.
In response, Hong Kong struggled and were bowled out for a mere 56 runs in 16.2 overs. Deepti Sharma was the standout bowler for India, taking 3 wickets for just 9 runs, while Shree Charani and Prema Rawat each claimed two wickets. Nandani Sharma also added two wickets to her tally.