Milestone: Smriti reaps reward for consistency, determination

The prolific India opener became the fastest to complete 10,000 runs in international cricket

- Samreen Razzaqui

This year, the Indian women’s cricket team engraved its name in the history books. They became ODI World Cup winners and it has unlocked in them the urge to recreate the run again, across formats and tournaments. They want to make winning a habit, several players said. For a team hoping to win consistently, the role model is there within their own dressing room.

Smriti Mandhana has long been the constant the assuring figure on whom the team can lean ‘on. She crossed 10,000 international runs on Sunday while scoring a match-winning 80 in the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka. It is not merely a landmark achieved through longevity, but the result of a batting career built on repeatability and a stubbornness in not letting the standards drop.

As she played a winning hand in Thiruvananthapuram, it reminded everyone of the incredible year she has had, and how relentlessly consistent she has been over the years.

The numbers are staggering. She is the fastest and youngest to 10,000 international runs in women’s cricket. She is only the fourth woman to reach the mark, emulating Mithali Raj, Charlotte Edwards (ENG) and Suzie Bates (NZ). She has scored the joint most international centuries (17). In 2025, she scored the most international runs in a calendar year (1703). She also scored the most runs by an Indian in a single ODI Women’s World Cup (434).