India opener Smriti Mandhana broke a world record with a brilliant knock during the first ODI of the series against West Indies in Vadodara. She looked in excellent form during the match but fell short of a well-deserved hundred.
After this innings, she completed 1600 runs in international cricket in the year 2024. It is a big achievement for the left-handed opener as she surpassed South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt who scored 1593 runs this year.
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Smriti Mandhana breaks the world record
Mandhana has 1602 runs to her name this year in international cricket currently, which is the most by any batsman in women's international cricket in a calendar year in history. Interestingly, Mandhana was already among the top five batsmen in this list with the most number of runs in 2018 and 2022.
It's the third time he's made the list that shows his batting consistency. Apart from her, South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt and England's Nat Sciver-Brunt are also on this list.
With two more ODIs to be played this year against the same opposition, Mandhana will be expected to add more runs to her tally. Over the years, she has been extremely consistent at the top order for India.
Before 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. She scored two hundreds and one fifty 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 has MORE women's international races in a year.
3 times in the top-5!
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— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) December 22, 2024
India put up a big score in Vadodara
Meanwhile, West Indies won the toss and chose to play on a good batting surface in Vadodara. India started cautiously with debutants Pratika Rawal and Mandhana looking to keep wickets.
India got lucky with some dropped catches from the West Indies, but Rawal's luck ran out and he was eventually dismissed for 40 off 49 balls. Harleen Deol came in at number 3 and formed a good partnership with Mandhana.
Mandhana looked in sublime touch once he settled down and smashed the bowlers with absolute ease around the ground. She looked good for a century but was dismissed by left-arm spinner Zaida James as she attempted a back-of-the-wicket paddle.
But skipper Harmanpreet Kaur didn't let the momentum slow down and smashed a quickfire 34 off 23 balls. Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues played fiery cameos to take India to a significant total of 314-9 in 50 overs.