India’s new T20I captain Smriti Mandhana and vice-captain Shafali Verma have added 4,080 runs together as openers, 50% more than any other pair in women’s T20Is.

On October 6, Smriti was named India’s white-ball captain and Shafali her deputy in T20 Internationals (T20Is). India’s two leaders are also its openers.

When India meets Zimbabwe in Raipur from October 16, they will face the first ball together. Their partnership is already the most productive in the format. Ball-by-ball data for every women’s T20I till October 7 show that in 107 innings since 2019, the two have added 4,080 runs for the first wicket, averaging 39.2 runs per dismissal at 8.34 runs an over.

Australia’s Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney are second with 2,715 runs in 84 innings; the UAE’s Esha Oza and Theertha Satish third with 2,588.

The Indian pair also has 32 stands of 50 or more, 12 more than any other pair, and a shared record six-century stand. The lead is recent: the Indian line steepens from 2025, just as the Australian one stops.

The chart below shows the cumulative opening partnership runs over time for the six most prolific pairs in women’s T20Is. Each step represents a partnership.

Quick and reliable

The chart below compares the 31 opening pairs with at least 20 innings together. A typical pair averages 26 runs per dismissal at under seven an over.

Each circle represents an opening pair with at least 20 innings together. Circle size indicates total runs, while the axes show average runs per dismissal and runs per over. Dashed lines mark the typical pair

Among the 10 pairs with 1,000-plus runs, none scores faster. England’s Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley come closest (8.23 an over) but average 28; South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits average 44.4 but score at 6.85. Only Oman’s pair, over just 20 innings, is ahead on both counts. The pairing has changed Smriti too: with Mithali Raj, she opened at 7.07 an over; with Shafali, 8.34.

A pair can average more by surviving longer or by scoring faster. The Indian pair lasts 28 balls per wicket against 25 for other established pairs, but scores over one and a half runs an over faster. The table below compares the Smriti-Shafali partnership with other established opening pairs, covering balls faced per wicket, scoring rate and runs per dismissal

Note: Powerplay figures count only balls bowled while the opening stand was intact. “Other openers” refers to the other 30 pairs with at least 20 innings together for whole-partnership figures, and all other opening pairs for powerplay figures

Of their 11 extra runs per wicket, about seven come from speed and four from staying in longer. The gap is sharpest in the powerplay: 8.4 an over against 5.8 for other openers, about 15 extra runs in six overs, with boundaries off 22.7% of balls, twice the rate of others. Survival barely differs: 26% of their stands last six overs, against 23%. Bowlers dismiss them as often as any good pair; they just cannot stop the runs first.

After a dip in 2023, when they scored at 7.04 an over, the pair has averaged 48 runs an innings at 9.27 an over since January 2025, against 34 at 7.91 before. Their 973 runs in 2026 are the most in any year.

The chart below compares the opening-partnership runs by calendar year, alongside the scoring rate and number of innings. Blue bars represent 2025 and 2026 (through October 7)

India won 60 of the 100 completed matches in which this pair opened, but their results varied sharply with the size of the opening stand. When the pair added fewer than 20 runs, India won 51% of matches; for stands of 20-49, the figure was 50%. But once they crossed 50, India won 24 of 29 matches (83%). Until the stand reaches 50, India’s win rate barely shifts; beyond it, their chances improve sharply.

Added responsibilities

The appointment puts India’s most crucial phase in the hands of its leaders, but carries a risk. In 18% of their innings together, both fell for under 15, leaving India without its captain and vice-captain early. Yet in 65% of innings, at least one scored 30 or more.

Both are currently scoring faster than ever. In their last 15 innings, Shafali’s strike rate exceeded 170 and Mandhana’s 150, career highs over any 15-innings stretch. The Zimbabwe series will show whether leadership changes their tempo.

The data for the charts were sourced from Cricsheet (cricsheet.org) ball-by-ball records of women’s T20 Internationals till October 7. Run rates use legal deliveries. Win figures exclude ties and no-results

Kapil Gupta is an Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences and Operations Management at IIM Kozhikode

Published – October 16, 2026 08:00 am IST

Illustration: Sreejith R. Kumar

Smriti Mandhana in action during the final cricket match against Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Japan.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Asha Sobhana with Aaron George Thomas
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

When allrounder Asha Sobhana made her international debut against Bangladesh on May 6, 2024, becoming the oldest Indian woman cricketer to make her debut at the age of 33 years and 51 days, her childhood coach Aaron George Thomas was watching the game in his home in Kumarapuram, Thiruvananthapuram. “She played beautifully; it didn’t seem like she was playing an international game for the first time,” says Aaron about Asha’s performance in the match where she scalped two wickets in three overs, giving away just 18 runs.  

On October 4, as India faced New Zealand in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Asha was the first Malayali to play in an ICC Women’s World Cup, and Aaron, a coach who saw his star pupil at the most important cricketing competition in the world. Despite India’s crushing defeat against the Kiwis, Asha dismissed the dangerous opening batter Georgia Plimmer, who scored a blistering 34 runs in 23 balls.  

Varied roles

Aaron, 44, is two decades old as a cricket coach, having started in 2003 by managing a few clubs in the district. In 2004, he became the coach of the Kerala Women’s Senior Cricket team after a stint as the coach of All Saints College in Thiruvananthapuram. From 2007 to 2018, he was a part of the Kerala State men’s team for the Ranji Trophy as a coaching staff. In the mid-2000s, Aaron was one of the first people from Kerala to be part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s panel of scorers. He is also a performance analyst who travels regularly with the India Under-19 men and India A teams; he was recently, part of Aries Kollam Sailors, who won the inaugural edition of the Kerala Cricket League, a state-level T20 tournament. Also, Aaron still plays club cricket as an opening batsman in Thiruvananthapuram A Division and has played with former stalwarts from Kerala such as Raiphi Gomez, Padmanabhan Prasanth, Rohan Prem, Sony Cheruvathur and so on. 

Journey with Asha

“I have known Asha since 2004. We met at a camp for women cricketers in Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) in Kochi,” says Aaron, who prides himself in bringing young players to the Kerala women’s side. He adds that this camp in Kochi is where he met the players who dominated the state side for the next few years such as Asha Sobhana, AJ Aswathymol, P Rakhi, PS Ameena, T Shani and Jincy George.

In a YouTube video posted by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru during their 2024 season, Asha remembers, “My coach Aaron sir used to give me money for a week’s bus fare to focus only on cricket. He used to make sure that after every practice, he would take me out for orange juice.” When asked about this, Aaron says, “She would come to camp straight after school, and their family was also not in a condition to spend a lot. It’s not like I had much either, but I tried to do whatever I could.” 

Until the age of 18, Asha trained with Aaron. Then she received a call from the South Central Railway (SCR) and left for Hyderabad. She represented SCR for 10 years before joining the Puducherry team in 2022. In 2023, she was signed by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League at a price of ₹10 lakh. The team retained her for the 2024 edition, a decision proven right as she scalped 12 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 7.11 runs. She was the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with her right-arm leg break. Her performance of 5-22 against UP Warriorz in the second game of the season also made her the first Indian women’s player to take a five-wicket haul in WPL.

“She was part of the National Cricket Academy and Zonal Cricket Academy coaching camps from a young age. She is fortunate that she got to work with a lot of good coaches,” says Aaron, adding “She would come to me to train when she was in the city.”

Fillip to women’s cricket

With two out of 15 people (Asha Sobhana, and Sajana Sajeevan) in the current World Cup squad emerging from Kerala, Aaron thinks that Kerala women’s cricket has gained good momentum in the country. He says, “Kerala has improved a lot. Back then, there wasn’t a lot of exposure for the women’s cricket team; they would play district games and then go directly to state matches. But this changed with the likes of the Kerala Cricket Association’s Pink tournament, the Comrade Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Women’s Cricket T20 Tournament in Kannur and other tournaments as well. There are also cricket academies specifically for women.” 

Aaron adds, “There are a lot of girls who are emerging as well. There’s Najila who plays for the Under-19 women’s team and Joshitha, who is part of the camps as well.” 

Aaron, a former Pathanamthitta player, is glad to see the spike in interest among the girls, currently training around 15 girls in his academy with a few who are five to six years old. “We have a few players from classes eight and 10 and some seniors who are around 23 years old,” he says. 

Having also coached Sanju Samson since he was 13 years old, coach Aaron considers the biggest highlight of his career to be Sanju’s recent T20 men’s World Cup victory. “It was a great thrill to see him hold the trophy in his hands,” Aaron says. The coach is also glad about how players like Sanju and Asha, who are from Thiruvananthapuram, give back to the local players by donating their kits to those who perform well. Considering the high price of quality cricket kits, Aaron feels fortunate that the players of today are investing in the players of the future. 

File picture of India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur
| Photo Credit: PTI

The big-hitting Harmanpreet Kaur will lead a 15-member Indian squad unveiled on Tuesday for the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE from October 3.

Top-order batter Yastika Bhatia and spin all-rounder Shreyanka Patil were also included in the squad subject to fitness.

Star batter Smriti Mandhana has been named Harmanpreet’s deputy.

The ICC event was shifted to the UAE from Bangladesh following unrest in the South Asian nation owing to a students’ protest.

India, placed in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, will be aiming for their maiden T20 World Cup trophy.

India squad for Women’s T20 World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk)*, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil*, Sajana Sajeevan.