Smriti Mandhana Creates World Record; Becomes First Woman to Achieve this Feat

India opener Smriti Mandhana recently set a new milestone in women’s cricket during the World Cup clash against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. The 29-year-old surpassed the long-standing record held by Australia’s Belinda Clark, who had scored 970 runs back in 1997. Mandhana now holds the record for the highest number of runs scored by a female batter in a single calendar year.

Smriti Mandhana didn't stop here and created another record. The Indian women's side is up against the mighty Aussies in the ACA-VDCA cricket stadium in Visakhapatnam on October 12, 2025. The Australian captain, Alyssa Healy, decided to field after winning the toss and asked the Women in Blue to bat first.

Smriti Mandhana Record: First Player to Score 1,000 Runs in a Year

Mandhana entered Sunday's match with an impressive run tally of 982 runs from 18 ODIs in 2025, averaging 58. She has scored four centuries and three fifties in this calendar year. She has now become the first player in the history of women's ODIs to score 1,000 runs in a year, which is a remarkable feat in itself. She reached the milestone during the eighth over of the innings by smashing a delivery from Sophie Molineux to the boundary.

Smriti Mandhana world record is a big moment in Indian cricket. She currently ranks as the fifth-highest run-scorer in the history of women’s ODIs, only behind legends like Mithali Raj, Charlotte Edwards, Suzie Bates, and Stafanie Taylor. She is only behind Meg Lanning, who has scored the fastest century in women's ODI cricket, in terms of the number of centuries in women’s ODIs.

Notably, the last time she faced Australia, Mandhana included her name in the record books by smashing the fastest century ever by an Indian in ODIs, reaching the three-figure mark in just 50 balls and surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous record of 52 deliveries. However, her start to the Women’s World Cup hadn’t been the best, with modest scores of 8, 23 & 23 in each of the opening games against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa.

Mandhana is featuring in her third ODI World Cup. She was also a key member of the Indian squad that reached the final in the 2017 edition held in England. Now, she stands on the edge of another major milestone, nearing 5,000 ODI runs. Once she crosses that mark, she’ll become only the second Indian woman and the fifth player in women’s ODI history to do so.

India Women Dominating Australian During World Cup Clash

The Ind vs Aus Women World Cup clash has shown that the Indian women's side can take on any other team in the world and deliver a commanding performance. In their World Cup clash against Australia, arguably the best women's cricket team in the world, on October 12 in Visakhapatnam, India took the charge with a brilliant 155-run opening partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal.

From the first over, both openers looked in complete control. Mandhana, with her aggressive intent, took charge of the Aussie bowlers, and Pratika Rawal played her part by anchoring the innings well and rotating the strike. The pair dominated Australia’s disciplined bowling attack, never allowing them to settle down

What stood out was their ability to rotate the strike consistently while attacking anything loose, keeping the pressure on the fielding side. By the halfway mark of the innings, India are ahead in the game, and now they will aim to capitalise on this massive opening partnership with wickets in hand. The experienced Australian bowlers, including names like Tahlia McGrath and Sophie Molineux, had no answers as boundaries flowed and the scoreboard ticked over rapidly.