Mandhana became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket surpassing New Zealand legend Suzie Bates. India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana scripted history during the Asian Games 2026 women’s cricket semifinal against Bangladesh on Sunday, September 20.
She was dismissed on the final ball of the sixth over, but had already done enough to move to the top of the women’s T20I run-scoring charts. The Asian Games semifinal brought another landmark for Mandhana. Her two sixes against Bangladesh took her career tally to the milestone. Shafali Verma went on to produce a historic knock While Mandhana’s record dominated the early part of India’s innings. They had entered the semifinal after beating Japan by eight wickets in the quarterfinal.
Mandhana scored a quickfire 37 runs off 19 balls, smashing five fours and two sixes at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. Coming into the semifinal, Mandhana had 4,751 T20I runs and needed just eight runs to overtake Bates’ tally of 4,758. She reached the landmark early in her innings and finished with 4,788 runs in 171 innings, moving clear at the top. She became the first Indian woman to hit 100 sixes in T20I cricket. Her explosive start also helped India race to 71/1 in the powerplay, with Mandhana and Shafali Verma adding 72 runs for the opening wicket. She smashed an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls, including nine sixes and three fours, becoming the first cricketer to score a century in Asian Games cricket. Shafali’s century, along with contributions from Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, helped India post 195/4 in 20 overs and set Bangladesh a target of 196 in the semifinal. India are looking to defend the women’s cricket gold medal they won at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
