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Smriti Mandhana’s quickfire knock against Ireland resulted in her becoming the fastest Indian to score 4000 runs in Women’s ODIs.
Smriti Mandhana smashed a quickfire knock of 41 from 29 balls in the first ODI against Ireland. (Image: Sportzpics)
India’s stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana who is leading the Indian Women’s Team for the ongoing ODI series against the Ireland Women’s Team, finds herself in the record books after her quickfire knock of 41 from 29 balls in the first ODI that took place at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.
With her quick knock, Mandhana crossed the 4000-run milestone in the 50-over format. But she has completed the feat in quick time. She is the fastest and the second Indian player to reach the milestone in WODIs.
The last women’s cricketer from India to reach the milestone was the legendary Mithali Raj who achieved it in 112 innings and went on to finish her career with almost double the runs. Mandhana’s feat surpasses the South African skipper’s Laura Wolvaardt who had hit the milestone in 96 innings.
| Rank | Name | Team | Matches | Runs | Innings To 4000 Runs |
| 1 | Belinda Clark | Australia | 118 | 4844 | 86 |
| 2 | Meg Lanning | Australia | 103 | 4602 | 89 |
| 3 | Smriti Mandhana | India | 95 | 4001 | 95 |
| 4 | Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | 101 | 4303 | 96 |
| 5 | Karen Rolton | Australia | 141 | 4814 | 103 |
| 6 | Suzie Bates | New Zealand | 168 | 5838 | 105 |
| 7 | Stafanie Taylor | West Indies | 160 | 5691 | 107 |
| 8 | Tammy Beaumont | England | 124 | 4204 | 110 |
| 9 | Mithali Raj | India | 232 | 7805 | 112 |
| 10 | Debbie Hockley | New Zealand | 118 | 4064 | 112 |
Mandhana currently sits at the third position amongst the fastest female cricketers to hit the 4000-run mark. The record belongs to Australia’s Belinda Clark who did it in 86 innings followed by Meg Lanning at 89.
The skipper’s quick knock gave India the platform to chase down Ireland’s total of 239 with relative ease. Despite Mandhana being dismissed in the 10th over, fellow opener Pratika Rawal along with Tejal Hasabnis went on to score 86 and 53 respectively to help the side complete the chase with six wickets to spare. While Mandhana took charge as the senior batter at the top of the order, Rawal continued to bide her time to get set and this approach proved to be beneficial for the Indian side, who went on to win the fixture.
The 28-year-old continued her stellar batting form through to 2025 as well. She had finished the previous year as the top run-scorer in both WODI and WT20I cricket. Her stellar form at the top of the order also resulted in breaking the record for the highest number of runs scored in a calendar year amongst women cricketers as well in 2024.
With a 1-0 series lead, the Women in Blue will hope to continue where they left off and make it back-to-back wins in the second WODI that takes place on January 12, later this week, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
