Smriti Mandhana goes past Mithali Raj as leading scorer of international runs

On that warm afternoon in Jaipur, Smriti Mandhana was talking about her childhood, about how her mother instilled a sense of competitiveness in her.

Also Read | Style and substance: Smriti Mandhana’s batting is eye-catching and effective

“She always used to ask me to persevere, in whatever I did, and not to leave in the middle but to go on till reaching the top,” Smriti told The Hindu. She also said she wanted to be the best batter in the world.

She already was. And that was seven years ago.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris even said, around that time, the difference between Smriti and the next batter in women’s cricket was the size of Mumbai.

When one asked her if she was aware of that remark by Styris, she said she wasn’t, but she was happy, and smiled. The smile that cricket fans across the world have become so used to.

Sweet certainly that smile is, but her batting is sweeter.

Not many cricketers, male or female, have made batting such a fine art. She is a treat to watch. Like David Gower or Sourav Ganguly was.

Runs continue to flow from her bat. As do records. There were more of them on Thursday (September 3, 2026).

During India’s Asia Cup match against Hong Kong in Dubai, she went past Mithali Raj, the woman who almost single-handedly put Indian women’s cricket in the headlines when the sport had no takers, to become the leading scorer of international runs. She overtook Mithali’s tally 10,868 runs during her innings of 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong.

And that was her 18th hundred. Also a record. She is now the scorer of most international hundreds in women’s cricket; she moved past Meg Lanning, the former Australian captain who hit 17 before she quit international cricket at the age of 31, and South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt, who has an equal number of centuries.

Smriti is only 30. She should be around for many more years. She will remain driven to be the best.