Smriti Mandhana creates history at Women’s T20 match against Sri Lanka

The golden girl of Indian cricket, Smriti Mandhana, proved why she is considered one of the most mentally strong athletes in the world. The opening batswoman returned to international duties during the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, and Smriti did not just return to the pitch; she rewrote history.

Her performance was particularly poignant following a tough period in her personal life, with reports recently confirming that Smriti’s high-profile wedding to music composer Palash Muchhal was off — very much on schedule for late November. The news followed a series of events including a family health scare and widespread social media speculation. Instead of retreat, Mandhana chose resilience, shifting her focus to the upcoming T20 World Cup.

A historic milestone in Visakhapatnam

On Sunday, Smriti achieved this feat in becoming the first Indian and Asian batter in Women’s T20I cricket to breach 4,000 runs. More importantly, she got there in just 3,227 balls-assigned the landmark faster than New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, the only other woman to have achieved the feat.

Although her strike rate of 25 off 25 might look ordinary by her standards, this was what was required by India to get down to in order to win an achievable target of 121. Along with an impressive unbeaten stand by Jemimah Rodrigues of 69, India won this encounter by a margin of eight wickets, thus taking a lead in the one-day series by a margin of 1-0.

What Smriti has done goes beyond mere stats. It takes a lot to step out onto the international stage and deliver in such poise just a few days after such a traumatic life-changing event. The ‘Mandhana era’ does not seem to be slowing down, as the opener is now merely 42 runs away from reaching 10,000 international runs. As the focus continues to be on the batting of the Indian star in the upcoming matches scheduled to take place in Thiruvananthapuram.

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