Smriti Mandhana sets two world records in Asian Games 2026 gold medal game
India vice-captain becomes first woman to cross 11,000 international runs
Dubai: There is no stopping Smriti Mandhana at the 2026 Asian Games as India’s vice-captain continues to make history in Nisshin, Japan. She has been a strong force for the Women in Blue as she continues to smash records at the Korogi Sports Park.
India is currently competing for the gold medal against Sri Lanka, a replay of the Women’s Asia Cup final from few weeks earlier. Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat first as Mandhana entered the field alongside Shafali Verma.
The two started the innings strong before Verma’s departure at 48, making an opening partnership of 99 runs. However, Mandhana continued her hot form as she went on to set several world records in women’s cricket.
The 30-year-old became the first-ever batter to complete 11,000 runs in women’s international cricket. Mandhana just required 13 runs to enter the unique club.
Apart from being the highest scorer in women's cricket history, she also has more international runs than many men cricketing legends like Gautam Gambhir and Shane Watson.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain has scored 788 runs in 9 Tests, 5411 runs in 120 ODI matches and over 4800 runs in 179 T20I matches. Apart from the 11,000 runs, Mandhana and Verma made history by scoring the most runs together by any women pair in T20I cricket.
The duo has recorded 4000 runs together following their 99-run partnership in the gold medal game. Nevertheless, Mandhana’s 79 runs in 45 balls refused her in making another mark in Women’s cricket as the highest century maker.
The Indian-vice captain currently shares the No.1 position with Australia’s Meg Lanning. Both Mandhana and Lanning have 17 centuries each in international cricket.
One more century by the Indian opener can make her surpass the Australian star. Nonetheless, Mandhana still broke two records in a single game against Sri Lanka.
While her personal accolades seem to have no end, India is also eyeing their second Asian Games gold medal.
The Women in Blue have set a target of 217 against Sri Lanka, making it the highest-ever Asian Games total in gold-medal match, as the game now heads to the second innings.
