Smriti Mandhana Creates World Record, Becomes First Cricketer to Score 1,000 ODI Runs in a Year (Image Source: @BCCIWomen/X)
Sports News: India batter Smriti Mandhana made history on Sunday during the Women’s ODI World Cup match against Australia in Visakhapatnam. Mandhana scored a quick 80 off 66 balls, becoming the first player ever to score over 1,000 runs in Women’s ODIs in a single calendar year. The 29-year-old opener also reached 5,000 runs in women's ODIs, becoming only the fifth player overall and the second Indian, after Mithali Raj, to reach this milestone. She achieved it faster and at a younger age than anyone else, reaching it in 112 innings and 5,569 balls, surpassing Stafanie Taylor’s 129 innings and Suzie Bates’ 6,182 balls.
After a quiet start to the tournament, Mandhana returned strongly, smashing 80 off 66 balls with nine fours and three sixes. She built a 155-run opening partnership with Pratika Rawal, which was also the first century opening stand of the tournament.
Starting the day with 982 runs from 17 matches, Mandhana reached the 1,000-run mark in the eighth over. She attacked Australian left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux, hitting four, six, and another four in the same over to cross the milestone. With this, Mandhana broke the long-standing record of Australia’s Belinda Clark, who scored 970 runs in 1997.
Mandhana began her innings positively, scoring a boundary off the last ball of the first over from Kim Garth. The over from Molineux became the highlight, with Mandhana hitting a four, defending one ball, then sending the next for a six, and following it with another boundary to seal her historic feat. Earlier in the tournament, Mandhana had scored 8, 23, and 23 against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and South Africa. But against her favourite opposition Australia, she looked unstoppable, using smooth drives and aerial shots to dominate the bowling attack.
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