Daijiworld Media Network – Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, Oct 13: India opener Smriti Mandhana etched her name in cricketing history on Sunday by becoming the fastest woman to reach 5,000 runs in Women’s One-Day Internationals. She achieved the milestone during her brilliant 80-run knock against Australia in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 match at Visakhapatnam.

Mandhana reached the landmark in just 112 innings, surpassing the previous record held by India’s batting great Virat Kohli, who had achieved the feat in 114 innings. She is now the fastest Indian — across both men’s and women’s cricket — to reach the milestone and stands behind only Babar Azam (97 innings) and Hashim Amla (101 innings) in the all-time list.

In women’s ODIs, Mandhana leads the list ahead of Stafanie Taylor (129 innings), Suzie Bates (136), Mithali Raj (144), and Charlotte Edwards (146).

The 29-year-old left-hander also crossed 1,000 runs for the calendar year, reaching the mark in style by smashing Australian spinner Sophie Molineux for four, six, and four in an over. In doing so, she broke Belinda Clark’s long-standing record of 970 runs in 1997 for the highest runs scored in a single year in women’s ODIs.

Mandhana began her innings confidently, opening her account with a boundary off Kim Garth’s first over. Her dazzling strokeplay and precise shot selection kept the scoreboard ticking as she dominated the Australian attack with authority.

Having struggled in earlier matches with scores of 8, 23, and 23 against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and South Africa respectively, Mandhana looked back to her sublime best against her favourite opponents. Her fluent drives and commanding presence at the crease reaffirmed why she remains the backbone of India’s batting lineup.