Smriti Mandhana Makes History as First Indian Woman to Score 4000 T20I Runs
Historic Achievement in Women's T20I Cricket
Indian cricket star Smriti Mandhana has etched her name in history by becoming the first Indian woman to score 4000 runs in women's T20 international cricket. The left-handed batswoman reached this remarkable milestone during the first T20I match against the Sri Lankan women's team at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Mandhana scored 25 runs in the match, making her the second woman overall to achieve 4000 runs in T20 internationals, following New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who has 4716 runs.
Additionally, Mandhana accomplished this feat in the fewest balls faced (3227), while Bates took 3675 balls to reach the same mark. Furthermore, she is just 42 runs shy of reaching 10,000 runs in women's international cricket. To date, Mandhana has accumulated 4007 runs in T20 internationals, 5322 runs in ODIs, and 629 runs in Test matches. In the match itself, Jemimah Rodrigues played a crucial unbeaten innings, leading the Indian women's team to a convincing eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first match of the series.
With this impressive win, the Indian women's team has taken a 1-0 lead in the ongoing T20 international series against Sri Lanka. Chasing a target of 122 runs, Jemimah scored an unbeaten 69 runs off 44 balls, hitting 10 boundaries, allowing the team to achieve the target in just 14.4 overs. She also equaled Mithali Raj's record of four scores over 50 against Sri Lanka in T20 internationals.
During the chase, Mandhana and Jemimah formed a vital partnership of 54 runs for the second wicket, putting India in a strong position. Jemimah then partnered with captain Harmanpreet Kaur for an unbroken 55-run stand for the third wicket, with Kaur contributing an unbeaten 15 runs. This partnership helped secure the eight-wicket victory for the Indian women's team. Earlier, batting first, the Sri Lankan women's team managed to score only 121 runs for 6 wickets in their 20 overs, with opener Vishmi Gunaratne being the top scorer with 39 runs off 43 balls.