Smriti Mandhana walked off the field in Dubai on September 3, 2026, having rewritten two of the biggest records in women’s international cricket in a single innings. The India opener smashed 124 off just 64 balls against Hong Kong, China in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026, taking her career tally to 10,880 international runs and moving past Mithali Raj’s 10,868 to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket. The same innings was also her 18th international century, taking her past former Australia captain Meg Lanning and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, who were tied on 17 hundreds.

In one night, Mandhana moved to the top of both lists. For Indian Womens cricket, it felt like a generational handover: the record once owned by Mithali Raj now belongs to a player who is still only 30 and still adding to her career.

Smriti Mandhana Smashes 124 in Women’s Asia Cup 2026

India batted first in Dubai and posted 193 for 5, with Mandhana dominating the innings. Her 124 came from only 64 deliveries and included:

• 14 fours
• 7 sixes
• A strike rate of nearly 194 India then bowled Hong Kong out for just 56 in 16.2 overs, completing a massive 137-run victory and securing a place in the semi-finals. Deepti Sharma took three wickets, while Nandini Sharma, Shree Charani and Prema Rawat also contributed with the ball. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s side therefore remained unbeaten while moving into the knockout stage of the tournament. But the night belonged almost entirely to Mandhana.

Mandhana Goes Past Mithali Raj’s Run Record

Before the match, Mandhana had 10,756 international runs. That left her 112 runs behind Mithali Raj, whose career total of 10,868 had stood as the benchmark for women’s international cricket. Mandhana crossed the record during the 18th over and finished the innings with a career tally of 10,880 runs. For Indian cricket, the moment carried particular emotional weight. Mithali was the face of Indian women’s batting for nearly two decades and retired with a record that appeared difficult to challenge.

Now that mark belongs to another Indian left-hander. The difference is that Mandhana is still active. That means 10,880 is not a final career number. It is simply the new starting point for the record.

18 International Centuries: Another World Record

The run record was not the only milestone to fall. The century against Hong Kong was Mandhana’s 18th international hundred, giving her the outright record for the most centuries in women’s international cricket.

Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt had previously been tied on 17.

Mandhana’s 18 hundreds are spread across formats:

• 14 ODI centuries
• 2 Test centuries
• 2 T20I centuries

That distribution matters because it shows her success has not been limited to one format. She has scored hundreds in Tests, ODIs and T20Is while adapting her batting to very different match situations.

Highest T20I Score by an Indian Woman

The innings also produced another major record. Mandhana’s 124 is now the highest individual score by an Indian woman in T20 international cricket.

It also became the highest individual score in Women’s T20 Asia Cup history. That makes the Hong Kong innings far more than simply the knock that took her past Mithali and Lanning.

It was one of the most statistically significant innings ever played by an Indian woman in the shortest international format. The seven sixes also took Mandhana past Harmanpreet Kaur for the most T20I sixes by an Indian woman, according to Wisden.

“I Didn’t Know All of This Happened”

Mandhana’s own reaction was surprisingly understated. After the match, she admitted she had not realised just how many records she had broken during the innings.

“I didn’t know all of this happened,” she said after India’s victory, according to post-match reporting. She also dedicated the milestone to her family.

That quiet response stood in contrast to the scale of the achievement. In a single innings, she became:

• The leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket
• The leading century-maker in women’s international cricket
• India’s highest individual T20I scorer
• The holder of the highest individual score in Women’s T20 Asia Cup history Few innings change that many record books at once.

Mithali Raj Praises Smriti Mandhana

The significance of the record became even clearer when Mithali Raj reacted publicly. Raj praised Mandhana after watching her go past the mark she had held for years, reflecting on how she had seen the opener develop from a young player into one of India’s finest batters.

That reaction made the moment feel less like one record being erased and more like a passing of the torch. Mithali helped establish India as a serious force in international Womens cricket. Mandhana now carries that legacy forward in a game that is attracting larger audiences, bigger tournaments and significantly more investment than when Raj began her international career.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s India Into the Semi-Finals

The individual achievement also came in an important team victory. The 137-run win ensured India’s progress into the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026. Under Harmanpreet Kaur, India have approached the tournament not only as favourites but as a team trying to build depth ahead of future global competitions. Mandhana’s form at the top gives the middle order greater freedom, while India’s bowling performance against Hong Kong showed that the side is not dependent on batting alone.

That becomes increasingly important as the tournament moves into its knockout phase.

A New Benchmark for Women’s Cricket

For years, the name at the top of the women’s international run chart was Mithali Raj. The century benchmark belonged to Meg Lanning and, more recently, Laura Wolvaardt alongside her. Both changed on the same evening. Smriti Mandhana now stands at 10,880 international runs and 18 centuries. Those numbers will continue to move. That is what makes the September 3 innings feel different from an ordinary milestone.

It was not the end of a great career. It was an active player taking ownership of two of the biggest records in the sport while still having years potentially left to extend them. Mandhana said after the match that this was only the beginning. After a night in Dubai where she moved beyond Mithali Raj, Meg Lanning and several other records in one innings, that statement suddenly carries considerably more weight.