Smriti Mandhana may not have had the ideal outing with the bat, but the India opener created history during the Women’s Asia Cup clash against Thailand on Sunday. Mandhana’s first boundary of the innings took her international career tally to 10,756 runs, helping her move past New Zealand great Suzie Bates (10,740) for second place on the list of most runs in women’s international cricket.Mandhana scored 19 off 10 balls, hitting four boundaries, before being run out while attempting a second run.
Only Mithali Raj ahead
Mandhana is now behind only former India captain Mithali Raj, who remains the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket with 10,868 runs. Mandhana’s tally includes 788 runs in Tests, 5,411 in ODIs and 4,557 in T20Is, further underlining her remarkable consistency across formats.Most runs in Women’s international cricket:
| Player | Country | Total runs |
|---|---|---|
| Mithali Raj | India | 10,868 |
| Smriti Mandhana | India | 10,756* |
| Suzie Bates | New Zealand | 10,740 |
| Charlotte Edwards | England | 10,273 |
| Stafanie Taylor | West Indies | 10,007 |
Indian set 160-runs target for Thailand
Shafali Verma’s explosive 64 off 36 balls helped India recover from a late batting collapse and post 159/9 against Thailand in their Group A Women’s T20 Asia Cup opener on Sunday. Shafali struck eight fours and three sixes during her brisk knock, while T20I debutant Pratika Rawal contributed 22 off 18 balls. Smriti Mandhana added 19, hitting four boundaries, before being run out.India appeared firmly in control at 108/2, but Thailand fought back brilliantly to reduce them to 137/9. Kranti Gaud then provided some late resistance with an unbeaten 15 to take India close to the 160-run mark. For Thailand, Suleeporn Laomi was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3/26, while Sunida Chaturongrattana claimed 2/31.
