The star Indian batter Smriti Mandhana smashed her eighth ODI century during the India Women vs New Zealand Women 3rd ODI match at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium on October 29, Tuesday. With this, she surpassed Mithali Raj’s record for the most ODI hundreds in India Women's cricket history. (Match Highlights | More Cricket News)
The 28-year-old left hand batter scored 100 off 122 balls in the match, paving the way for India’s 6-wicket victory over the T20 Women's World Cup 2024 champions, New Zealand, in the 3rd ODI. This win secured the morale boosting series for India, 2-1.
Smriti Mandhana made her ODI debut for the India national women's cricket team in 2013 and has since played 88 matches. She currently ranks second on the list of all-time run scorers for India Women in ODIs, with 3,690 runs to her name, trailing only Mithali Raj, who holds the record with 7,805 runs.
Mithali Raj is a legendary figure in Indian women's cricket, often recognized as one of the greatest female cricketers of all time. She made her debut in 1999 and holds several records, including being the highest run scorer in women's ODIs and achieving the highest individual score of -- 232 against Australia in 2017. Mithali also captained the Indian women's team in over 100 matches, acting as a a role model and a trailblazer in women's cricket.
After Mandhana's remarkable knock secured the 'must-win' series, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who contributed with a half-century (59 off 75 balls), praised her. She said, "I want to give credit to Smriti. She was struggling early on but managed to score runs. I'm really happy about our partnership."
Mandhana struggled in the two previous ODIs against the White Ferns, scoring only 5 off 7 in the first match, which India won by 59 runs, and then getting out for a duck in the second match, which India lost by 76 runs.
In the post-match press conference, Mandhana said, "Had to be little hard on myself early on and wait for the first 10 overs to go before taking the game on. For me what works is the harder way. Need to do it for the team first. Getting out early means I’ve let the team down and that thought doesn’t let me sleep well."
After a disappointing campaign in the recent T20 World Cup, where India failed to reach the semifinals, this victory against the winners was crucial for the team.
