Smriti Mandhana became the first woman cricketer to score 11,000 runs in international cricket during India’s Asian Games 2026 women’s T20 final against Sri Lanka in Nisshin, Japan, on September 22. The India vice-captain reached the landmark while opening the innings and went on to score 79 off 45 balls, helping India post 216/3 before dismissing Sri Lanka for 69 to win the gold medal by 147 runs.
Mandhana’s achievement came less than three weeks after she surpassed Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket. The latest milestone adds to a remarkable run of records for the 30-year-old, who has also become the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is.
Historic Asian Games Knock
Mandhana entered the Asian Games final after a prolific period in which she had repeatedly rewritten women’s cricket’s record books. Against Sri Lanka, she struck 79 from 45 deliveries, including boundaries that helped India make a fast start alongside Shafali Verma.
Their opening partnership finished just one run short of a century, while Richa Ghosh added an unbeaten 49 from 22 balls to take India to 216/3, the team’s highest total at the Asian Games. Mandhana crossed 11,000 international runs during her innings, becoming the first woman batter to reach the mark across Tests, ODIs and T20Is. India’s bowlers then completed the result, restricting Sri Lanka to 69. The victory gave Harmanpreet Kaur’s side a second successive Asian Games gold in women’s cricket.
𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗘 1️⃣1️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗦 🌟
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 22, 2026
Smriti Mandhana with another magnificent milestone to her name 🫡
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/x367kJHmrc#TeamIndia | #AsianGames pic.twitter.com/QJ3B4hYXYh
Records Behind 11,000
The latest landmark follows several major achievements for Mandhana in 2026. On September 3, during the Women’s Asia Cup against Hong Kong, China, she scored 124 from 64 balls, her second T20I century. That innings took her international tally to 10,880 and moved her beyond Mithali Raj’s previous record of 10,868. It also gave Mandhana 18 international centuries, taking her past former Australia captain Meg Lanning for the most hundreds in women’s international cricket at that time.
Mithali congratulated Mandhana after the record, saying she was proud to see the batter she had watched grow into one of India’s leading players surpass her tally. Mandhana subsequently became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, overtaking New Zealand’s Suzie Bates during India’s Asian Games semi-final against Bangladesh. ICC reported that, before the 11,000-run landmark, Mandhana had accumulated 5,411 ODI runs and 4,751 T20I runs, alongside her Test tally.
A Career Of Firsts
Mandhana made her India debut in 2013 and has since established several milestones across formats. Her first ODI century came against Australia in Hobart in 2016, while she became the first Indian woman to score centuries in all three international formats after completing the feat in 2025. She also holds the record for the most ODI centuries by an Indian woman, according to the BCCI.
Her career has been recognised repeatedly by the governing bodies of the sport: she has won the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award three times, in 2018, 2021 and 2024, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award in 2021. She was also the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2018. In 2025, Mandhana was part of India’s victorious Women’s Cricket World Cup campaign and finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Mandhana’s 11,000-run milestone reflects more than a single innings. It represents more than a decade of sustained international cricket and comes at a time when women’s cricket continues to gain greater visibility in India and globally.
Her achievement, alongside India’s Asian Games gold, also highlights the value of creating opportunities for women athletes to compete, lead and build careers at the highest level. As records continue to be broken, the wider challenge is ensuring that young girls have access to coaching, facilities, financial support and safe sporting environments that allow talent to develop. Mandhana’s journey can therefore be viewed alongside the collective achievement of the team that shared the gold-medal moment with her.
What more can be done to ensure the next generation of girls gets the same opportunity to dream big in sport?
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