Visakhapatnam. Indian star batsman Smriti Mandhana etched her name in the record books during the first Women’s T20 International against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, achieving a historic milestone in women’s cricket. The left-handed opening batsman became the first Indian woman to score more than 4,000 runs in T20 Internationals, which is a major achievement for Indian cricket.

Overall, Mandhana is the second woman in the world to reach the 4,000-run mark in this format, joining New Zealand great Suzie Bates, who currently tops the list with 4,716 runs. She reached 4,000 T20 runs in just 3,227 balls, much quicker than Bates, who took 3,675 balls to reach there, which shows Mandhana’s consistency and aggressive approach in the shortest format. In the match against Sri Lanka, Mandhana scored 25 runs in 25 balls before being dismissed in the ninth over while chasing a modest target of 122 runs. Although his innings was short, it was enough to take him to a historic milestone. The match was also Mandhana’s first international match after India’s memorable win in the ODI World Cup final last month, where she defeated South Africa to win her first title.

Earlier, India’s bowlers put in a disciplined performance and restricted Sri Lanka to 121 runs for six wickets. The Sri Lankan batsmen found it difficult to take advantage of the loose balls and were not able to form any big partnerships. Opener Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored for Sri Lanka with 43 runs in 39 balls, while Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama scored 20 and 21 runs respectively. Captain Chamri Athapaththu looked aggressive initially but was dismissed by young fast bowler Kranti Goud, giving India early success. Despite dew making it difficult to get a grip on the ball, India’s bowlers maintained control in the middle overs. Deepti Sharma bowled with her characteristic economy, while debutant Vaishnavi Sharma impressed with a calm and controlled spell, conceding very few runs.