Smriti Mandhana, vice-captain of the Indian wom- en’s cricket team, recently joined compatriot Mithali Raj as the only Indian women to score 10,000 runs in international cricket. She reached the milestone during a T20I match against Sri Lanka in Thiruvanantha- puram, scoring 80 off 48 balls. The 10,000-run club has just four members: the two Indian stars, as well as New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and England’s Charlotte Edwards.
Raj retired in 2022 with 10,868 runs across all formats, the most ever in women’s in- ternational cricket. Mandhana, who is only 29, will likely break Raj’s re- cord. The Mumbai native, who joined the national team in 2013 at age 16, recorded one of the greatest years in women’s cricket in 2025, scoring 1,362 runs in one-day internationals. That included 434 runs during the Women’s Cricket World Cup, propelling India to its first title.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge. [Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]