Smriti Mandhana surpasses Suzie Bates to make the ultimate T20 batting crown her own; another record bites the dust

Smriti Mandhana , India's vice-captain, on Sunday, became the leading run-scorer in women's T20Is, surpassing New Zealand great Suzie Bates . The left-hander achieved the feat against Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the women's cricket event at the Asian Games 2026. Heading into the contest, the 30-year-old needed just seven runs to break the record, and she achieved the feat in the third over of the game.

Mandhana dispatched Marufa Akter for back-to-back boundaries on the last two deliveries of the third over, helping herself to sit atop the T20I mountain. Recently, she also became the leading run-scorer in women's cricket across formats, achieving the milestone in the Women's Asia Cup.

She also holds the record for most centuries by a batter in women's cricket, and she made the record her own after smashing a ton in the group stage fixture of the Asia Cup against Hong Kong, China.

The match against Bangladesh in the Asian Games also saw Mandhana breaching the 100-sixes mark in women's T20Is, becoming the first Indian player to do so. Speaking of the leading run-scorer in different formats, Mithali Raj holds the record in ODIs, while Jan Brittin of England does so in Tests. In T20Is, Mandhana and Bates are followed by Harmanpreet Kaur, Chamari Athapaththu and Sophie Devine.

Coming back to Mandhana, she departed back to the pavilion in the semi-final after scoring 37 runs off 19 balls with the help of two sixes and five fours.

In the Asian Games 2026 semi-final between India and Bangladesh, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first. Earlier, the Women in Blue had outclassed Japan in the quarter-final.

India won a gold medal at the last Asian Games, and the squad is aiming to defend their title. Earlier on Sunday, Sri Lanka progressed to the final after beating Pakistan by eight wickets in the first semi-final.

Recently, India, led by Harmanpreet, won the Women's T20 Asia Cup after beating Sri Lanka in the final by 72 runs. However, the win was marred by the post-presentation chaos as the side refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President.

Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia.