India opener Smriti Mandhana on September 3 scored her second T20I century to become the highest run-scorer in international cricket, surpassing former captain Mithali Raj. Smriti smashed three consecutive sixes off Hong Kong's Ruchitha Venkatesh in the 18th over of their Asia Cup 2026 clash to achieve the milestone.
Mithali held the record for a long time with 10,868 runs in international cricket (699 in Tests, 7,805 in ODIs, and 2,364 runs in T20Is).
Smriti is the first Indian to score a century in Women's T20 Asia Cup history. The previous best belonged to Mithali as well. She had scored an unbeaten 97 against Malaysia in the 2018 edition.
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Most centuries in women's international cricket
This was Smriti's 18th century in women's cricket. She surpassed former Australia captain Meg Lanning and South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt to get the record in her name.
Smriti breaks Chamari’s all-time Asia Cup record
Smriti also surpass Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu by recording the highest score in Women's T20 Asia Cup history. Athapaththu had scored an unbeaten 119 against Malaysia in the previous edition. Smriti departed after scoring 124 runs from 64 balls, featuring 14 fours and seven sixes. Her knock helped India post 193/5.
Smriti was unaware of all the records she broke. She lauded Hong Kong bowlers for their discipline in the powerplay overs.
"I didn’t know all of this happened. It's really hard for me to play slower bowlers, but credit to them. They were really disciplined in the powerplay. They bowled pretty well, and the kind of energy they showed was something which we all can learn from. Having said that, I just love batting, and I’m happy that I could contribute,' she told the broadcasters during the innings break.
Smriti paces her innings after cautiuous start
Earlier, Hong Kong, China skipper Natasha Miles won the toss and opted to bowl first. Smriti missed a few full tosses early on in her knock. She shared a 74-run opening partnership with Shafali Verma. She reached her half-century with a six. She took 40 deliveries to reach the milestone. She also equalled Mithali's record for most 50-plus scores in women's international cricket.
On-debut Pratika Rawal couldn't make her mark and departed after scoring 10 runs from 12 balls. She went berserk and her catch was dropped in the 16th over when she was on 95. In the 17th over, she reached her second T20I century from 57 balls. In the 18th over, she hit three sixes in a row. She was run out on the third ball of the final over. She hit seven sixes in her knock, second-most by an India batter in a T20I innings. She also surpassed Harmanpreet as India's leading six-hitter in T20Is.