Smriti Mandhana Scripts History With 11000 International Runs During India’s Asian Games Gold

Smriti Mandhana, India’s 30-year-old vice-captain and left-handed opening batter, etched her name in cricketing history on 22 September 2026 by becoming the first woman to surpass 11,000 international runs across formats. She achieved the landmark during the gold-medal final of the 4th edition of the Asian Games at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, against Sri Lanka, led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu, with a match-defining half-century that powered India to a record 147-run victory and a second consecutive Asian Games gold.

Mandhana entered the final needing just 13 runs to reach the milestone and did so in style, scoring 79 off 45 balls while opening alongside <a href="https://cricket.international/shafali-verma-says-indias-asian-games-gold-can-help-womens-cricket-grow-further/" title="Shafali Verma Says India's Asian Games Gold Can Help Women's Cricket Grow Further”>Shafali Verma. Her explosive knock featured five boundaries and seven sixes, helping India post 216/3 in their 20 overs before the bowlers dismantled Sri Lanka to seal the biggest-ever margin of victory by runs for India in T20Is. The triumph not only defended India’s 2023 Hangzhou gold but also crowned Mandhana’s milestone with the ultimate team prize on the grandest continental stage.

This latest feat comes hot on the heels of Mandhana surpassing former Indian legend Mithali Raj’s all-time tally of 10,868 runs during the 6th edition of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup in the UAE. On 3 September 2026, against Hong Kong at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, she scored a sensational 124 off 64 balls—her best T20I performance to become the leading run-scorer across formats in women’s cricket. That century, studded with 14 boundaries and seven maximums, propelled India to a 137-run win and set the tone for their fourth Asia Cup title, secured with a 72-run final victory over Sri Lanka on 13 September.

Smriti Mandhana’s 2026 has been a masterclass in consistency and big-match temperament. At the Asian Games, she finished as the third-highest run-scorer of the tournament and India’s second-highest, amassing 116 runs at a strike rate of 181.25 and an average of 58 across two innings in three matches, including one half-century. In the recently concluded Asia Cup, she was the second-highest run-scorer with 213 runs at a strike rate of 165.11 and an average of 42.60 in five innings, registering one century and one half-century in five matches. She already has 765 runs at a strike rate of 148.25 and an average of 38.25 in 21 innings, including 5 half-centuries and a century in 22 matches with the bat for her side in the T20I format this year so far.

Since her T20I debut on 5 April 2013 against Bangladesh at Vadodara, Mandhana has accumulated 4,788 runs at a strike rate of 126.90 and an average of 30.69 in 171 innings across 178 matches, including 36 half-centuries and two centuries. Her ODI journey, beginning on 10 April 2013 against Bangladesh at Ahmedabad, has yielded 5,411 runs at a strike rate of 90.36 and an average of 47.88 in 120 innings, featuring 35 half-centuries and 14 centuries. In Tests, debuting on 13 August 2014 against England at Wormsley, she has scored 788 runs at a strike rate of 63.54 and an average of 52.53 in 16 innings across nine matches, with five half-centuries and two centuries

Mandhana is now the 12th Indian cricketer, across men’s and women’s cricket, to surpass 11,000 international runs, a testament to her durability, adaptability, and relentless run-scoring across three formats. From her early days as a flashy opener to her current role as vice-captain and senior stateswoman, she has blended elegance with aggression, redefining what’s possible for women batters in the modern era.

As India celebrated another Asian Games gold, Mandhana’s milestone stood out not just as a personal triumph but as a beacon for the next generation of women cricketers, proof that with talent, tenacity, and time, history can be rewritten one boundary at a time.

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Source: femalecricket.com