Visakhapatnam

Star India opener Smriti Mandhana etched her name in the record books on Sunday, becoming the first Indian batter to score 4,000 runs in Women’s T20 International cricket.

Mandhana achieved the historic milestone during the first T20I of the five-match series against Sri Lanka Women at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The left-hander scored 25 runs in the match, taking her T20I tally to 4,007 runs.

She is only the second woman in the world to reach the 4,000-run mark in T20Is, after New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, who has 4,716 runs. Mandhana also became the fastest to the milestone in terms of balls faced, reaching it in 3,227 deliveries compared to Bates’ 3,675.

The Indian opener is also closing in on another major landmark, standing just 42 runs short of 10,000 runs in women’s international cricket. She currently has 5,322 runs in ODIs and 629 runs in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues starred with an unbeaten half-century as India Women cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women in the series opener. Chasing a modest target of 122, Jemimah smashed an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls, hitting 10 fours, as India chased down the total in just 14.4 overs.

Her knock also saw her equal Mithali Raj’s record of four 50-plus scores against Sri Lanka in Women’s T20Is. Mandhana and Jemimah shared a crucial 54-run partnership for the second wicket, laying the foundation for the comfortable chase. Jemimah then added an unbeaten 55-run stand with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who finished on 15 not out.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Women, asked to bat first, were restricted to 121/6 in 20 overs. Opener Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored with 39 off 43 balls. Deepti Sharma was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning economical figures of 1/20 in four overs, including a maiden.

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With the win, India Women took a 1–0 lead in the T20I series.