Smriti Mandhana (Pic credit: BCCI Women)
The India vice-captain began with two boundaries in the opening over before launching a six in the third over to complete 11,000 international runs. She overtook Raj’s tally of 10,868 runs with a spectacular 124 against Hong Kong in the Women’s Asia Cup earlier this month, taking her total to 10,880 at the time. She also became the first Indian woman to hit 100 sixes in T20Is during the semifinal against Bangladesh. India entered the final unchanged after beating Japan by eight wickets in the quarterfinal and Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semifinal. India’s semifinal win was powered by Shafali’s unbeaten 100 off 49 balls. The final is a rematch of the 2023 Asian Games gold-medal clash, as well as the Women’s Asia Cup final earlier this month, both won by India. India are defending their Asian Games title after winning gold in their only previous appearance in the women’s cricket event in 2023.
The milestone added another chapter to a remarkable run of record-breaking performances for the left-hander. Mandhana had only recently taken the record for the most runs in women’s international cricket across formats from former India captain Mithali Raj . Mandhana’s rapid accumulation of milestones has made the Asian Games a particularly memorable tournament for her. Sri Lanka also retained the same XI after overcoming Malaysia and Pakistan to reach the gold-medal match.