Smriti Mandhana is one of the finest batters to have played women’s cricket. The Indian vice-captain will be celebrating her 30th birthday on Saturday, July 18. Let’s take a closer look at her illustrious career so far.
Mandhana was born to Smita and Shrinivas in a Marwari Hindu family. Her father and brother had played cricket at the local level. Watching her brother play cricket inspired Mandhana. When she was just nine years old, she got called up to join the Maharashtra U-15 team. Two years later, when she turned 11, she was picked for the Maharashtra U-19 team.
In 2013, a turning point came in her career, as she became the first Indian woman to score a double-century in a List A match against the Gujarat Under-19 side in the West Zone U-19 tournament. She smashed an unbeaten 224 off 150 balls.
In April 2013, Smriti Mandhana made her international debut in ODIs and T20Is when India travelled to Bangladesh for a white-ball tour. It took her three years to score her maiden international century. It came against Australia at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
During the 2017 Women’s World Cup, Mandhana scored a half-century against England and a century against the West Indies. India lost the final by just nine runs.
In the 2018 ICC Awards, the southpaw won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year awards. She became the youngest T20I captain for India at the age of 22 years and 229 days in February 2019. She led a young Indian team against England after regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out due to an ankle injury.
In 2021, she slammed her first Test century, and it came against the mighty Australians. In 2024, Mandhana didn’t perform well in the T20 World Cup, but she amassed 763 T20I runs and became the batter with the most runs by anyone in T20Is in a single calendar year.
In 2025, India won the ODI World Cup for the first time, and Mandhana was the vice-captain.
After the inauguration of the WPL (Women’s Premier League) in 2023, Mandhana helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinch two titles. The men’s team also has two titles now, but Mandhana was the first captain to end the franchise’s long wait for a trophy.
In nine Tests, Mandhana has scored 788 runs at an average of 52.53. Meanwhile, in white-ball cricket, she has taken 120 ODIs to score 5411 runs at an average of 47.88. As far as T20Is are concerned, she has 4538 runs after playing 171 games at an average of 30.25. She has aggregated a total of over 10,000 runs. This includes two Test centuries, 14 ODI tons, and one three-figure score in the shortest format. Mandhana has won India plenty of matches so far, and she will continue doing so in the future with her solid batting skills.
Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.
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