Smriti Mandhana created a world record, achieved two records simultaneously: Smriti Mandhana broke another world record in the Women’s World Cup match against Australia on Sunday. She became the first woman player in history to score 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. She also became the fastest player to reach 5,000 runs in women’s ODIs.
Needing 18 runs to reach 1,000, Smriti Mandhana achieved this milestone by hitting a six off Sophie Molineux. In the previous match against South Africa, Mandhana had broken the record for most runs scored by a female batsman in a calendar year.
Smriti Mandhana Became the first woman player
The 29-year-old Mandhana surpassed Belinda Clark’s record of 970 runs, set in 1997, by hitting a six off Ayabonga Khaka in the eighth over of the innings. She also broke another record by scoring 62.
Smriti Mandhana became the fifth Indian woman player and the second Indian to score 5,000 runs in women’s ODI cricket. Mandhana became the youngest and fastest player to reach the milestone in terms of innings (112) and balls (5568). She surpassed Stafanie Taylor (129 innings) and Suzie Bates (6182 balls), respectively.
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Poor performance in three World Cup matches
Mandhana became the second Indian player after Mithali Raj to score 5,000 runs in ODI cricket. Despite this record, Mandhana’s performance in the World Cup has been poor. She scored only 8 runs against Sri Lanka, 23 against Pakistan, and 23 against South Africa.
However, Mandhana’s bat performed well against Australia, reaching her half-century in 46 balls with the help of 7 fours and a six. This is Mandhana’s first half-century in this tournament. This half-century could be beneficial for India in a crucial match.
