Smriti Mandhana first woman to 11,000 international runs at Asian Games final
Synopsis
In the middle of a gold-medal final, Smriti Mandhana crossed 11,000 international runs — a threshold no woman cricketer had ever reached. Coming weeks after she broke Mithali Raj's all-format record and Suzie Bates' T20I mark, this third landmark in rapid succession makes a compelling case that Mandhana is rewriting the very grammar of women's batting.
Key Takeaways
Smriti Mandhana became the first women's cricketer to score 11,000 international runs on 22 September 2026 during the Asian Games final in Nisshin .
She needed just 13 runs entering the final, reaching the mark in the third over with a six.
Her tally stands at 788 Test runs , 5,411 ODI runs , and 4,788 T20I runs .
Earlier in September, she broke Mithali Raj's all-format record of 10,868 runs at the Women's Asia Cup.
She also surpassed Suzie Bates to become the highest T20I scorer across both men's and women's cricket .
India are the defending Asian Games gold medallists , playing Sri Lanka in a rematch of the 2023 Asiad final.
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana etched her name deeper into cricket history on Tuesday, 22 September, becoming the first women's cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs during the Asian Games final against Sri Lanka at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The milestone arrived in the most fitting of stages — a gold-medal showdown — as India batted first in defence of their continental title.
How the Record Fell
Mandhana had entered the final with 10,987 runs across all formats — 788 in Tests, 5,411 in ODIs, and 4,788 in T20Is — requiring just 13 more runs to reach the landmark. She wasted little time. Two boundaries in the opening over set the tone, and a six in the third over pushed her past 11,000, bringing the historic moment to fruition at breakneck pace.
A Season of Records for Mandhana
The milestone caps a record-breaking stretch for the left-hander. Earlier this month, Mandhana surpassed the tally of 10,868 runs set by India legend and former captain Mithali Raj during the Women's Asia Cup, becoming the highest run-scorer across all three formats in women's cricket. Days later, in the Asian Games semifinal against Bangladesh, her 37-run outing propelled her past former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates to claim the record for the most runs in T20I cricket — across both men's and women's cricket globally. The 11,000-run mark now makes her the sole occupant of a tier no cricketer of any gender had previously reached.
The Asian Games Final Context
The India vs Sri Lanka final is the third meeting between the two sides in a marquee event within a matter of months — following the 2023 Asian Games gold-medal match and the Women's Asia Cup final earlier in September 2026, both of which India won. Sri Lanka, two-time medallists at the Asiad (bronze in 2014, silver in 2022), are chasing their maiden continental gold. India, who won their only previous Asiad cricket gold in 2023, entered the final after defeating Japan in the quarterfinal and Bangladesh in the semifinal. Sri Lanka beat Malaysia and Pakistan on their route to the decider.
Playing XIs
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Gunalan Kamalini, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud.
Sri Lanka Women: Imesha Dulani, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nuthyangana (wk), Mithali Ayodhya, Kawya Kavindi, Chamudi Praboda, Sugandika Kumari.
What Comes Next
With the gold medal on the line and Mandhana in full flow at the top of the order, India will look to complete a hat-trick of wins over Sri Lanka in high-stakes finals. For Mandhana personally, the trajectory now points toward yet more uncharted milestones in a career already redefining the ceiling of women's batting.
Point of View
000-run milestone on a gold-medal stage underscores that she is no longer simply accumulating runs; she is occupying territory that the sport had never previously mapped. Yet the larger story is institutional: women's cricket now commands an Asian Games final, a continental cup final, and T20I viewership that rival domestic men's leagues. Mandhana is the avatar of that growth, but the ecosystem that produced her — BCCI-W investment, more bilateral series, better scheduling — deserves equal scrutiny for what it says about where the women's game goes from here.
NationPress
22 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Smriti Mandhana reach 11,000 international runs?
Mandhana reached 11,000 international runs during the Asian Games final against Sri Lanka on 22 September 2026 in Nisshin. She needed just 13 runs entering the match and got there in the third over with a six, becoming the first woman cricketer to achieve the landmark.
What is Smriti Mandhana's run tally across formats?
As of the Asian Games final, Mandhana's 11,000-plus runs are distributed as 788 in Tests, 5,411 in ODIs, and 4,788 in T20Is. She is the leading run-scorer in women's cricket across all three formats combined.
Whose record did Smriti Mandhana break before the 11,000-run milestone?
Mandhana broke former India captain Mithali Raj's all-format record of 10,868 runs during the Women's Asia Cup in September 2026. She also surpassed former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates to become the highest run-scorer in T20I cricket across both men's and women's cricket globally.
What is the Asian Games 2026 women's cricket final?
The final is a T20 gold-medal match between India and Sri Lanka at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on 22 September 2026. It is a rematch of both the 2023 Asian Games final and the 2026 Women's Asia Cup final, both of which India won.
Who are Sri Lanka's previous Asian Games cricket medals?
Sri Lanka have won two medals at the Asian Games — a bronze in 2014 and a silver in 2022. The 2026 final against India represents their first shot at the gold medal.
