Visakhapatnam: Though she missed out on a big score in India’s clash against South Africa in the Women’s World Cup, opener Smriti Mandhana etched her name in cricket history by setting a new world record for most runs in women’s ODIs in a calendar year.
Mandhana scored 23 runs off 33 balls on Thursday, including a four and a six, before being dismissed by Sune Luus at long-on.
The knock took her aggregate in 2025 to 973 runs from 17 innings, surpassing the 26-year-old record of 970 runs set by Australia’s Belinda Clark in 1997.
South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt follows the list with 882 runs in 2022.
Mixed Form in the World Cup
While Mandhana has been outstanding this year, her World Cup form has been modest. So far, she has managed just 54 runs in three innings at an average of 18.00 and a strike rate of 72.97.
Before the tournament, however, she had amassed 928 runs in 14 innings at 66.28 average and 115.85 strike rate, underlining her dominance in ODIs.
Chasing Another First
Despite a quiet World Cup, Mandhana has the opportunity to reach another milestone — becoming the first woman cricketer to score 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. With five league matches still to go, the Indian opener remains well within reach of achieving the landmark.