Smriti Mandhana Breaks Barriers: The New Face of Indian Women's Cricket
There aren't many moments in sports when someone's record feels like a definite shift—a handover from one era to the next. That’s exactly what happened when Smriti Mandhana crossed the 4,000-run mark in ODI cricket, dethroning cricket legend Mithali Raj as the fastest Indian woman to reach this milestone.
This wasn’t some slow climb. Mandhana stormed to the mark in just 95 innings, erasing Raj’s 14-year-old record of 112 innings and etching her own name atop the Indian women’s cricket charts. She joined a very elite global club—only two women worldwide have done it quicker: Australia's Belinda Clark (86 innings) and Meg Lanning (89 innings). That’s serious company.
Her landmark innings happened during the 2025 ODI series against Ireland, but it wasn't just about ticking off another personal milestone. Mandhana’s dominant batting, especially her explosive 135-run knock in the third ODI, helped rewrite the record books for India. Seven sixes and 18 fours weren’t just about flair—they were a statement. This power-packed performance didn't stand alone; it came packaged with a massive opening stand with Pratika Rawal, piling on 233 runs for the first wicket. That partnership now sits as the third-highest for India in ODIs, only surpassed by Deepti Sharma-Punam Raut (320 runs in 2017) and Mithali Raj-Reshma Gandhi (258 in 1999).
Shifting Gears in Women's ODI Cricket
For years, Indian women's ODI totals hovered around 250 or maybe 300 on a good day. But this time, Mandhana’s aggression turned the script upside down as the team surged past 400 runs in a single innings for the very first time. To put it into perspective, crossing 400 is a big deal in men’s ODIs—and for the women’s side, it signals a new level of dominance and self-belief.
The records didn’t stop at just runs and partnerships. Mandhana smashed boundaries like it was practice—48 fours and nine sixes across the series set new benchmarks for Indian cricket. She didn’t just inch past Mithali Raj’s haul of ODI centuries either; she overtook her decisively, notching up her 10th century faster than anyone else in Indian women’s ODI history.
Mandhana’s rapid rise isn’t just about her stats, though those are headline-grabbing. Her ability to accelerate an innings changes games. Her presence at the top of the order makes every bowler nervous, knowing that a few loose deliveries will disappear to the boundary. Batting alongside the likes of Pratika Rawal, Mandhana helps lift the entire team’s confidence—matching the kind of impact batters like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma have on their male counterparts.
While Mandhana now leads Indian women in ODI centuries and fastest landmark milestones, her journey speaks to a changing mindset across Indian women's cricket. This new generation isn’t just happy breaking old records—they’re resetting expectations, forcing fans to keep one eye glued to the scoreboard and the other on what’s next for Indian cricket.