India opener Smriti Mandhana broke a world record with a brilliant knock during the first ODI of the series against West Indies in Vadodara. He looked in great form during the match but missed out on a well-deserved hundred.
After these innings, he completed 1600 runs in international cricket in 2024. It is a huge achievement for the left-hander as he has overtaken South Africa’s Laura Wohlwardt who has scored 1,593 runs this year.
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Smriti Mandhana broke the world record
Mandhana has 1,602 runs to her name in international cricket this year, the most in women’s international cricket in a single calendar year in history. Interestingly, Mandhana was among the top five players in this list, having scored the most runs in 2018 and 2022.
It’s the third time he’s been listed in the batting order. Apart from her, South African Laura Volwardt and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt are also on this list.
With two more ODIs to be played against the same opposition this year, Mandhana is expected to add more runs to her tally. He has been extremely consistent at the top order for India over the years.
Prior to the ongoing series against West Indies, Mandhana also had an excellent series against South Africa where he smashed 343 runs in three ODIs at an average of 114.33 and a strike rate of 103.93. He scored two hundred and fifty points in the entire series.
Most international runs in a year in women’s cricket
- Smriti Mandhana (India) – 1602 runs in 2024
- Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) – 1593 runs in 2024
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (England) – 1346 runs in 2022
- Smriti Mandhana (India) – 1291 runs in 2018
- Smriti Mandhana (India) – 1290 runs in 2022
Mandhana now holds the most women’s international runs in a single year.
Top-5 list 3 times!
1602 – Mandhana🇮🇳 in 2024
1593 – Laura Wolvaardt🇿🇦 in 2024
1346 – Nat Sciver-Brunt in 2022
1291 – Smriti Mandhana🇮🇳 in 2018
1290 – Smriti Mandhana in 2022🇮🇳#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/QxWDHyk5Ve— Kaustubh Gudipati (@kaustats) December 22, 2024
India won by a huge margin in Vadodara
Meanwhile, West Indies won the toss and elected to field on a good batting surface in Vadodara. India started cautiously with debutant Pratika Rawal and Mandhana looking to guard the wickets.
India were lucky with a few dropped catches from the West Indies but Rawal’s luck ran out and he was eventually dismissed for 49 off 40 balls. Harleen Deol came in at number 3 and formed a good partnership with Mandhana.
Mandhana looked in sublime touch after setting up and smashed the bowlers all over the ground with ease. He looked good for a century but was dismissed by left-arm spinner Zaida James when he attempted to paddle behind the wicket.
But skipper Harmanpreet Kaur did not let the momentum slow down and smashed 34 off 23 balls. Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues played fiery cameos to take India to 314-9 in 50 overs.
