Indiavice-captain of, Smriti Mandhanahas officially registered her name in the history books of women’s cricket. during Match against South Africa in Women’s World Cup 2025The left-handed batsman left the Australian great behind Belinda ClarkThe long-running count.
Smriti Mandhana breaks 28 year old benchmark
Mandhana now holds the record for most ODI runs in a calendar year, an unprecedented feat that stood for 28 years. The historic moment came after an hour-long rain delay at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, adding drama to the historic occasion. Despite a relatively slow start to the World Cup tournament, Mandhana’s consistent run-scoring throughout the year culminated in this fantastic achievement.
After the game was delayed by an hour due to rain, Mandhana took to the crease at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam to leave her mark. He got off to a poor start, indicating an early struggle for time against the South African bowlers in humid conditions. However, he quickly found his rhythm and needed only 13 runs to break the long-standing world record set by Clarke in 1997. Mandhana achieved the milestone with a powerful shot, scoring the maximum run with the 21st ball she faced in her innings, which was indeed a fitting way to break the record.
This feat saw him surpass Clarke’s previous mark of 970 runs, placing him at the top of the all-time list for the calendar year. This is an incredible achievement, especially when compared with his recent form in the tournament. Despite the enormity of this achievement, Mandhana’s individual scores in the ongoing World Cup were modest before this match. She was out for only eight runs in the opening game against Sri LankaFollowing this, the vice-captain scored a slightly better score of 23 in a high-risk encounter against the arch-rivals. Pakistan,
Mandhana’s record-setting statistical season for India in women’s ODIs
Mandhana is currently having a new world record season with an astonishing 972 runs in just 17 innings played in the calendar year 2025. His current batting average is highly impressive, hovering close to the 60-run mark at 59.93, demonstrating remarkable consistency throughout the year. The strike rate is particularly aggressive with this incredible run tally, recorded at 113.76, highlighting his ability to score runs quickly and dominate opposition bowling attacks.
Importantly, Mandhana has already registered four centuries and three half-centuries in her ODI 2025 campaign, demonstrating her ability to convert starts into big, match-winning scores.
In comparison, Australian cricket legend Clarke had set the previous benchmark of 970 runs in 1997, which was achieved in 14 innings, with an even higher average of 80.83. Clarke also hit three centuries and four half-centuries during his record-setting year, scoring at a strike rate of 98.11, an unprecedented effort for his era. The statistical table clearly underlines the sheer amount of runs scored by Mandhana, leaving Clarke trailing by two runs with her innings still active at the time of the milestone. Other notable performances on the list include: Laura Wolvaardt882 more runs in 2022 debbie hockleyScored 880 runs in the same 1997 season as Clarke.
Also read: The performance of youth is worth seeing in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.
