Smriti Mandhana added another feather to her cap as the Indian opener became the top run-getter in the history of women’s T20Is on Sunday, during the Asian Games 2026 semifinal against Bangladesh at the Korogi Sports Park in Nishhin. She reached the milestone when Mandhana crossed eight runs in the third over of the innings.
Playing in his 178th T20I, Mandhana left behind New Zealand legend Suzie Bates (4758) for the record. mandhana’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is third in the list with 4287 runs, followed by another New Zealander Sophie Devine (3817). Australia’s Beth Mooney is fifth with 3783 runs.
In the previous game against japan, which India won by eight wickets while chasing 57, Mandhana didn’t come out to bat.
Earlier, defending champions India won the toss and elected to bat against Bangladesh. India have fielded an unchanged XI from their eight-wicket win over Japan in the quarterfinals.
The winners will face Sri Lanka in the gold medal clash on Tuesday. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the first semifinal on Sunday.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Gunalan Kamalini, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud.
Bangladesh: Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana (c/wk), Shorna Akter, Sharmin Akhter, Shanjida Akter Meghla, Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, Marufa Akter, Sultana Khatun.
More to follow…
