India's opener Smriti Mandhana he broke a world record with a brilliant knock during the first ODI of the series against West Indies at Vadodara. She looked good throughout the game but missed a well-deserved hundred.
After this innings, she completed 1600 runs in international cricket in 2024. It is a huge achievement for the left-handed opener as she surpassed South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt , who has 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 batter in women's international cricket in a calendar year in history. Interestingly, Mandhana was already among the top five batsmen in this list after scoring the most runs in 2018 and 2022.
This is the third time she has entered the list which shows how consistent she is with bats. Apart from that, Laura Wolvaardt from South Africa and Nat Sciver-Brunt from England 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 streak. Over the years, she has been extremely consistent at the top order for India.
Before the ongoing series against the West Indies, Mandhana had an excellent series against South Africa where she smashed 343 runs in three ODIs at an average of 114.33 and a strike rate of 103.93. She scored two hundred and fifty in the entire series.
Most international runs in a year are 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 MOST women's international runs in a year.
3 times in the top-5 list!
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#meNDvWme pic.twitter.com/CxWDH. isyk5Ve– Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) December 22, 2024
India collect a big score at Vadodara
Meanwhile, West Indies won the toss and elected to field on a good batting surface at Vadodara. India started cautiously with opener Pratika Rawal and Mandhana looking to preserve wickets.
India were lucky with some 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 No. 3 and established a good partnership with Mandhana.
Mandhana looked sublime once she was positioned and smashed the bowlers across the ground with ease. She looked good for a century but was dismissed by left-arm spinner Zaida James while trying to paddle behind the wicket.
But a captain Harman preet Kaur the momentum didn't let up and he smashed a quickfire 34 off 23 balls. Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues played fiery cameos down the order to take India to a massive total of 314-9 in 50 overs.
