Indian women’s cricket team’s star batsman Smriti Mandhana has achieved another historic achievement. He touched the mark of 4000 runs in ODI cricket by playing a brilliant inning of 41 runs in the first ODI match against Ireland. Smriti became the fastest Indian female cricketer to reach this milestone. She achieved this feat by breaking the record of former captain Mithali Raj.
Smriti’s innings laid the foundation of victory
Chasing the target of 239 against Ireland, Smriti Mandhana scored 41 runs in 29 balls, which included four fours and a sky-scraping six. His innings gave India a strong start towards victory.
With this inning, Smriti’s total ODI runs in 95 innings reached 4001. She became the first Indian woman and third cricketer in the world to achieve this feat in the fewest innings.
Mithali Raj’s record broken
In 2011, Mithali Raj played 112 innings to touch the mark of 4000 runs in ODI cricket. Smriti broke Mithali’s record by achieving this milestone in just 95 innings.
It is noteworthy that Mithali Raj holds the world record of scoring 7805 runs in ODI cricket, which has not been broken by any female cricketer till now.
World’s fastest female cricketer to score 4000 runs
The record of scoring the fastest 4000 runs in ODI cricket is held by Australia’s legendary batsman Belinda Clark. He achieved this feat in only 86 innings. After her, Meg Lanning achieved this milestone in 89 innings. Smriti Mandhana achieved this feat in 95 innings and got the third position in this list.
List of fastest female cricketers to reach 4000 runs
| player | Team | match | Run | innings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belinda Clark | Australia | 118 | 4844 | 86 |
| meg lanning | Australia | 103 | 4602 | 89 |
| Smriti Mandhana | India | 95 | 4001 | 95 |
| Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | 101 | 4303 | 96 |
| Karen Rolton | Australia | 141 | 4814 | 103 |
| suzie bates | New Zealand | 168 | 5838 | 105 |
| stephanie taylor | west indies | 160 | 5691 | 107 |
| tammy beaumont | England | 124 | 4204 | 110 |
| Mithali Raj | India | 232 | 7805 | 112 |
exciting turn of the match
Batting first, Ireland had at one time lost 4 wickets for only 56 runs. However, captain Gabby Lewis (92) and Leah Paul (59) made a brilliant partnership to take the team to a respectable score of 238/7.
Chasing the target, India won the match in 34.3 overs with 6 wickets remaining.
- Smriti Mandhana scored 41 runs.
- His opening partner Pratika Rawal played an important role in helping the team win by playing a brilliant inning of 89 runs.
Why is Smriti’s performance special for India?
This achievement of Smriti Mandhana is a big inspiration for Indian women’s cricket. His record-breaking innings gave a strong start to the team and further cemented his growing stature in Indian cricket.
