Updated on: Oct 09, 2025 06:37 pm IST
Smriti Mandhana unlocks a major batting record while playing against South Africa in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup.
Indian women’s cricket’s poster girl and star batter, Smriti Mandhana, has rewritten the ODI record book. In the ongoing game against South Africa at Visakhapatnam, Mandhana went past Belinda Clark’s 1997 benchmark of 970 runs in a calendar year. This was one of the longest-standing major batting records in women’s one-day cricket. She brought up the record in style with a straight six of Ayabonga Khaka in the eighth over of the innings.
The milestone arrived on a rain-delayed World Cup afternoon, and fittingly in a pressure fixture against South Africa. Although the southpaw failed to convert her start and fell after scoring 23 runs, she set up a strong base for her team along with her opening partner, Pratika Rawal. Notably, ahead of the match, Mandhana stood on 959 runs in 2025 and moved past Clark’s 970 by the end of her stay in the middle.
28-year record taken down
Australian legend, Belinda Clark, scored 970 runs in 1997, and that record stood for nearly three decades. The achievement by Clark included first ever double-hundred in cricket in the ODI format (229*) and powered Australia’s World Cup triumph, making the figures as mythical as it was statistically significant. Mandhana’s form in 2025 has been sensational. She has found a golden touch, and although is yet to translate that into the ongoing World Cup, would be looking to find that form and take India to the coveted and elusive title.
Rank |
Player |
Runs |
Year |
Inns |
|
1 |
Smriti Mandhana (IND) |
982 |
2025 |
17 |
|
2 |
Belinda Clark (AUS) |
970 |
1997 |
14 |
|
3 |
Laura Wolvaardt (SA) |
882 |
2022 |
18 |
The historic moment was an embodiment of Mandhana’s 2025 form. The left-handed opener went down the track and lofted the ball over long-off for a maximum. The shot was a perfect reflection of how assured Mandhana has been about her game this season.
Speaking of the match, India arrived in Visakhapatnam after winning their opening two clashes against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Before the start of the match, they were in the third spot in the points table. A win in this game would see them climb to the top of the ladder.
India lost the toss for the match and were put to bat. Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana gave India a good start, putting on 55 runs for the opening partnership. However, India started losing the plot in the middle overs. From 83/1, they suffered a collapse and were reduced to 92/4. At the time of writing, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma are in the middle, trying to rebuild the Indian innings.
