Copyright Cricket Addictor
The superstar India Women's National Cricket Team opening batter, Smriti Mandhana, has scripted history with her brilliant performances in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025. Smriti Mandhana has become the India Women's player with the most runs in a single edition of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. Smriti Mandhana falls short of a fifty Mandhana, as expected, has been the best batter for India in the ongoing edition of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. The left-handed batter started off the tournament on a poor note, but stepped up with the bat whenever it was needed. After registering a string of low scores, she smashed back-to-back 80s against Australia and England before smashing a brilliant century against New Zealand. In the semi-final, Smriti scored 24 runs against Australia Women's, and in the summit clash, she missed out on a fifty by a small margin at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. She looked amazing out in the middle while opening the innings with Shafali Verma, and the duo built a 104-run stand. It was the first time in history that an Indian opening pair built a century opening stand in a World Cup knockout game, Men’s and Women’s cricket combined. Also, Smriti and Shafali became the second pair to put on a century stand in the Women’s World Cup final after Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy had added 160 against England in the 2022 edition. Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana's struggles against left-arm spinners continued as Chloe Tryon dismissed her for 45 runs off 58 balls on the fourth ball of the 18th over. Although Smriti fell short of a fifty, she managed to become the batter with the most runs in a single edition of the Women's World Cup for India. Most Runs For India Women's In A Single Edition Of A World Cup: 434 - Smriti Mandhana (2025) 409 - Mithali Raj (2017) 381 - Punam Raut (2017) 359 - Harmanpreet Kaur (2017) 327 - Smriti Mandhana (2022) The World Cup is always special, but a home World Cup is something else altogether - Smriti Mandhana Speaking on JioHotstar, ahead of the match, Smriti Mandhana said that playing a home World Cup is extremely special and a dream for the players. “The World Cup is always special — but a home World Cup is something else altogether. I remember visiting the stadium a couple of months ago for an ad shoot and standing on the balcony thinking, ‘How amazing would it be if we win here on the 2nd?’ Now, that dream is within reach. Our focus as a team is to leave everything behind," said Mandhana on ‘Follow The Blues’. "Whatever happened in the past or in the semi-final, give 100% in the final. Everyone has been meticulous with their preparations, whether in the gym or at training. As players, it’s in our hands how we prepare. I know a lot of dreams across India are connected with this final, and we will try our best to make those dreams come true — because fans will live those moments through our eyes,” she added. Smriti also revealed that her only goal in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 was to play for the team and not focus on achieving personal milestones. "In this World Cup, my only goal was to do whatever the team needed from me. In the past, I came in with personal targets — wanting to score specific runs or achieve certain milestones — but things rarely go exactly as planned. This time, my intention was very clear: to focus on preparation and execution rather than numbers,” said Mandhana. “Personally, the only statistic I want to see is that ‘India has won the 2025 World Cup.’ That’s what will mean the most to me. As a batter, I’ve realised that you can’t overthink in cricket — it’s all about reacting to the ball. Whoever reacts best on the day will do well. So for me, it’s about staying calm, being present, and contributing in whichever way the team needs,” he added.
