Women's Hundred: Smriti Mandhana becomes first to accomplish 500 runs
India's batting ace Smriti Mandhana has accomplished a major feat as she has become the first player to complete 500 runs in The Hundred Women's Competition. The Southern Brave batter accomplished the feat during her half-century against Welsh Fire in the recently-concluded game. She scored an unbeaten 70 off 42 balls with the help of 11 boundaries. Here we decode her stats.
A brilliant knock from Mandhana
Chasing a challenging 166 in Southampton, Southern Brave were off to a flier with openers Mandhana and Danielle Wyatt (67) adding 96 runs. While Mandhana played the second fiddle in the partnership, she shifted gears after Wyatt departed. Despite not getting much support from the other end, Mandhana continued to fight and took the game down to the wire.
500 runs for Mandhana
As mentioned, Mandhana became the first player to touch the 500-run mark in the history of the competition. Overall, she has now raced to 503 runs in 17 games at an average of 35.92. Notably, the Indian southpaw overtook Trent Rockets's Natalie Sciver-Brunt (497) in terms of runs at the competition. Mandhana's teammate Wyatt is next on the list with 479 runs.
Most fifties in the competition
Meanwhile, Mandhana smoked her fifth half-century in the competition which is now the most for any player. She overtook her compatriot Jemimah Rodrigues, who boasts four fifties in the tournament. Rodrigues is a part of the Northern Superchargers set-up. Meanwhile, Mandhana's highest score in the competition reads 78. She has truly embraced this fresh format of the game.
Her numbers this year
Mandhana has started her campaign this year with half-centuries in the first two games. She scored a match-winning 36-ball 55 in her side's opener against Trent Rockets. Her strike rate across the two games read 160.25. Meanwhile, her knock against Welsh Fire went in vain as Tammy Beaumont's team narrowly won the contest by four runs.
A look at her WT20I numbers
Mandhana has hammered 2,854 runs in 119 WT20Is at 27.44. The batter has clobbered 22 fifties while her strike rate reads 123.49. She is the second-highest run-scorer for India in the format, only behind Harmanpreet Kaur (3,152). In eight matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) earlier this year, she could only manage 149 runs at 18.62.
