Smriti Mandhana is now the leading run-scorer in women's international cricket. The India vice-captain passed former captain Mithali Raj's record of 10,868 international runs during a match-winning innings of 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong at the Women's Asia Cup in Dubai on Thursday.
The knock, which included 14 fours and seven sixes, powered India to 193-5 before they bowled Hong Kong out for 56, securing a 137-run victory. The result also sealed India's place in the semifinals of the T20 tournament.
Mandhana, 30, also became the leading century-maker in women's international cricket with the innings, reaching 18 hundreds across all formats. That total passes Australia's Meg Lanning and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, who each have 17.
She made her India debut in 2013 and last year became the first Indian woman to score international centuries in all three formats, when she registered her maiden T20 international hundred. She has two centuries in Tests, two in T20 internationals, and 14 in one-day internationals.
Mandhana said she was not tracking the record while she batted. "Until I was batting, I didn't know what record, because I didn't know what's the exact runs," she said, according to Indian sports outlet Sportstar. "A very good day for Indian cricket, I would say," she added.
She called the bowling from Hong Kong tougher than expected. "They were disciplined in the powerplay, bowled really well and the energy they showed was something we'll learn from," she said. Mandhana dedicated the achievement to her family and praised the player whose record she broke, describing Mithali Raj as a "legend and a role model."
On the record itself, she kept her response brief. "It's just the start," she said after the game.
