Women's Asia Cup 2022: Smriti Mandhana joins Harmanpreet for rare T20I milestone

Smriti Mandhana in 2022 Women's T20 Asia Cup (PC: Twitter)

Smriti Mandhana led the Indian team in Harmanpreet Kaur’s absence against Thailand Women. The contest marked match number 19 of the ongoing Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022 in Bangladesh.

Mandhana has been in scintillating touch with the bat this year, be it during the Commonwealth Games or the subsequent white-ball series in England. She also scored a match-winning 47 in India’s previous game against the hosts, as the ‘Women in Blue’ continue their table-topping run this tournament.

Notably, the cricketer has now added another landmark to her game. Her appearance against Thailand Women in India’s latest outing marked the 100th T20I appearance of her career.

Smriti Mandhana receives special memento on her 100th T20I cap

Smriti Mandhana joins Harmanpreet Kaur as Indians with 100 T20I appearances

Smriti Mandhana became just the second women’s cricketer to play 100 T20I matches for India. Previously, only regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had scaled the landmark figure, as she remains the most capped T20I women’s cricketer for India with 135 matches.

In men’s cricket, Rohit Sharma (142 matches) and Virat Kohli (109 matches) have already achieved the feat, thus making Mandhana the fourth Indian overall to claim the record.

The 26-year-old is also one of only three Indian women’s batters to have compiled more than 2,000 runs in T20Is. She currently sits at 2,373 runs from 96 innings at an average of nearly 27, with 17 half-centuries to her name.

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