Ace India batter Smriti Mandhana and her long-time batting partner, Shafali Verma, on Sunday, December 28, became the only pair in women’s T20Is to amass more than 3000 partnership runs during the fourth
game of the five-match series against Sri Lanka in Trivandrum.
An all-round India relied on Mandhana’s 80 and Verma’s 79 in a record stand, complemented by Vaishnavi Sharma’s outstanding 2/24, to defeat Sri Lanka by 30 runs in the fourth women’s T20I and seal a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
After Mandhana and Shafali laid the foundation for India’s highest-ever women’s T20I total of 221/2 with a record 162-run stand for any wicket, Vaishnavi delivered a brilliant 4-0-24-2 to bag a commanding victory for the hosts.
Thanks to their massive partnership, Smriti and Shafali went past the 3000-run mark to register a massive feat. They were on 2945 partnership runs before Sunday’s game.
Most Partnership Runs In Women’s T20Is
Smriti Mandhana-Shafali Verma: 3107 runs
Alyssa Healy-Beth Mooney: 2720 runs
Esha Oza-Theertha Satish (UAE): 2579 runs
Sophie Devine-Suzie Bates: 2556 runs
Kavisha Egodage-Esha Oza: 1976 runs
Notably, Mandhana and Verma also have the most 50-plus partnerships in the format, at 24.
Mandhana and Shafali went on a record-making spree, powering India to their highest Women’s T20I total of 221/2.
Batting first for the first time in the five-match series, Mandhana and Shafali put on a masterclass, dominating the Sri Lanka bowlers across the Greenfield International Stadium.
Indian openers Mandhana and Shafali shared a huge 162-run partnership in 15.2 overs, which is now the best stand for any wicket for the nation in women’s T20Is.
This marked the fourth time Mandhana and Shafali had put together a 100-plus stand, going past their previous record of 143 against the Windies at Gros Islet in 2019.
Mandhana also etched her name in the history books, becoming only the fourth batter, after Mithali Raj, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and England’s Charlotte Edwards, to go past 10,000 international runs across formats.
