Smriti Mandhana lit up the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur with her 12th ODI hundred in the second game of the three-match series against Australia on Wednesday, September 17. She reached the milestone in just 77 balls, recording the second-fastest hundred by an Indian woman in ODIs after her own 70-ball effort against Ireland earlier this year.
During her innings, the elegant left-hander also set a new record for the most runs scored by an Indian women’s batter in a calendar year, surpassing Deepti Sharma’s 787 runs from 20 matches in 2017.
India Women vs Australia Women, 2nd ODI Updates
After India were put in to bat, Mandhana wasted little time in shifting gears. She brought up her half-century off 45 balls with a towering six over mid-wicket against leg-spinner Georgia Wareham in the 16th over. In the 29th over, she drove Tahlia McGrath to the boundary to bring up her century.
With this knock, Mandhana, who recently reclaimed her top spot in the ODI rankings for batters, equalled Tammy Beaumont at third place on the list of most hundreds in Women’s ODIs. The legendary Meg Lanning, who retired from international cricket in November 2023, stays on top with 15 hundreds.
Mandhana has become the Asian batter with the most ODI hundreds against Australia, moving ahead in the regional charts. She now sits level with New Zealand’s Suzie Bates in the overall list. At the top is England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has amassed 1,113 runs in 26 matches at an average of 58.57, including four centuries and four fifties.
Amongst Asian players, only Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu also features on the list, with two centuries to her name. Mandhana is now the eighth batter overall to score multiple hundreds against Australia in Women’s ODIs.
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