Kolkata : India opener Smriti Mandhana became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, surpassing New Zealand great Suzie Bates’ tally of 4,758 runs during India’s Asian Games 2026 semi final against Bangladesh.
The 30-year-old elegant left-hander needed seven runs to break the record as she reached the landmark in the third over, hammering Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter for back-to-back boundaries off the final two deliveries of the over. Trying to finish the powerplay with another maximum, Mandhana miscued a slog sweep off Akter and was caught by Sobhana Mostary at deep mid-wicket.
By then she had already taken the record outright, moving to the top of the women’s T20I run charts with 4,788 runs.
Mandhana’s record also means India now has two batters in the top five of the women’s T20I run-getters, with captain Harmanpreet third on the list.
The left-hander is also the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket across formats, a record which she set in Asia Cup 2026 earlier surpassing former India captain Mithali Raj’s tally of 10,868 runs.
Mandhana now has 10,987 international runs across formats — 788 in Tests, 5,411 in ODIs and 4,788 in T20Is. Bates is third on the all-format list with 10,740 runs.
Mandhana also holds the record for most international centuries in women’s cricket, having taken the record outright with a century against Hong Kong, China in the group stage of the recent Women’s Asia Cup.
Her explosive start against Bangladesh also powered India to one of their fastest T20I powerplays. India’s score at the end of the powerplay was their fourth-highest in women’s T20Is, behind 77 for no loss against the West Indies in 2019, 75 for four against Sri Lanka in 2018 and 73 for two against England earlier this year.
Eventually India won by 114 runs and qualified for Final where they’ll face Sri Lanka in a repeat of Asia Cup 2026 final in Gold Medal defense.
