India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana scripted history during the Asian Games 2026 women’s cricket semifinal against Bangladesh on Sunday, September 20. Mandhana became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket surpassing New Zealand legend Suzie Bates.
Mandhana scored a quickfire 37 runs off 19 balls, smashing five fours and two sixes at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. She was dismissed on the final ball of the sixth over, but had already done enough to move to the top of the women’s T20I run-scoring charts.
She smashed an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls, including nine sixes and three fours, becoming the first cricketer to score a century in Asian Games cricket. Shafali’s century, along with contributions from Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, helped India post 195/4 in 20 overs and set Bangladesh a target of 196 in the semifinal. Shafali Verma went on to produce a historic knock While Mandhana’s record dominated the early part of India’s innings.
