India opener Smriti Mandhana on Sunday became the first Indian batter to complete 4,000 runs in Women’s T20 Internationals during the opening match of the five-match series against Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Mandhana reached the landmark while scoring 25 runs in India Women’s eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka. She is only the second woman overall to cross 4,000 T20I runs, after New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (4,716). Mandhana also achieved the milestone in the fewest balls faced — 3,227 — compared to Bates’ 3,675.
The left-hander now has 4,007 runs in T20Is, 5,322 in ODIs and 629 in Tests, and is 42 runs short of completing 10,000 runs in women’s international cricket.
India’s chase was anchored by Jemimah Rodrigues, who struck an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls, hitting 10 fours, as the hosts chased down a target of 122 in 14.4 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Mandhana and Jemimah added 54 runs for the second wicket after Shafali Verma was dismissed early, before Jemimah shared an unbroken 55-run stand with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (15 not out).
Earlier, India Women put in a disciplined bowling performance after opting to field, restricting Sri Lanka to 121/6 in 20 overs. Opener Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored for the visitors with 39 off 43 balls, but Sri Lanka struggled to accelerate, reaching only 31/1 in the powerplay. Hasini Perera (20) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (21) got starts but failed to build on them.
For India, Deepti Sharma was the most economical with figures of 1/20 from four overs, including a maiden. Kranti Gaud (1/23) and N. Shree Charani (1/30) also picked up a wicket each, while Sri Lanka were hurt by three run-outs.
After being named Player of the Match, Jemimah said she focused on making the most of her form and understanding the conditions, which she felt were slightly sticky. She added that the team’s long-term focus remains the T20 World Cup.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed satisfaction with the team’s batting and bowling but said fielding needs improvement, particularly after several dropped catches. She said the decision to bowl first was taken to ease the team back into competitive cricket after a break.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu admitted her side fell short with the bat and said the team needs to be more positive, especially during the middle overs, to bounce back in the remaining matches.
(With ANI inputs)
