A major milestone in Smriti Mandhana's career: Surpassed this record of Rohit Sharma
Durban: Smriti Mandhana, the star opener of the Indian women's cricket team, has set a new record in T20 International cricket. During the first T20 match played against South Africa in Durban on Friday, Mandhana broke the record previously held by former Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma had scored 4,231 runs in 159 matches before retiring following the 2024 T20 World Cup. The moment Mandhana completed her second run during her innings of 13, she became India's highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals (across both men's and women's categories). She now has 4,244 runs to her name in 161 matches.
However, in this match played at Kingsmead Stadium, the Indian team suffered a 6-wicket defeat. Batting first, India posted a total of 157/7 in 20 overs, thanks to an unbeaten knock of 47 runs by captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
Smriti Mandhana failed to play a substantial innings in this match and was dismissed after scoring 13 runs off 14 balls; nevertheless, during her brief stay at the crease, she secured the historic run that the cricketing world had been eagerly awaiting. South Africa successfully chased down the target in just 19.1 overs, aided by brilliant batting performances from captain Laura Wolvaardt (51) and Anneke Bosch (44*).
Smriti Mandhana has now become the second-highest run-scorer in the history of women's T20 International cricket. New Zealand's Suzie Bates (4,717 runs) currently tops this list. In men's T20 Internationals, the record for the most runs is currently held by Pakistan's Babar Azam (4,596 runs).
Surpassing Rohit Sharma's record is being hailed as a major milestone in Mandhana's career, particularly since she remains an active player and could potentially challenge the records held by Suzie Bates and Babar Azam in the future. The second match of the series between India and South Africa will be played on April 19.