Queen Smriti outruns King Kohli: Mandhana rewriting cricketing history one Virat step at a time

Smriti Mandhana becomes the fastest Indian to 5000 ODI runs, surpassing Virat Kohli by two innings.

The year 2025 has been a dream one for India’s star batter, Smriti Mandhana. It remains the same, as she continues to tumble down records and milestones. The left-handed opening batter went past a few milestones during her knock against Australia in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup.

Smriti Mandhana celebrates her half century. (PTI )

Notably, India were invited to bat first in the match after Alyssa Healy won the coin flip. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal gave India a dynamic start, with the left-hander taking up the role of the aggressor. She scored 80 runs off 66 deliveries as the opening duo set up the stage for their team with a 155-run partnership in just 24.3 overs.

While Mandhana went past 58 during the innings, she kissed the milestone of 5000 ODI runs. While it is a significant landmark, even more remarkable is the fact that she achieved it in 112 innings. Now, that number will hit its place when more context is added to it.

The core numbers

Fastest to 5000 ODI runs (Men's and Women's cricket) (HT)

112 innings. It is also two fewer than the maestro Virat Kohli for the same milestone. She also puts behind the greats of the game, like Viv Richards (114). Only two players stand ahead of her in the history of the game: Babar Azam, who achieved 5000 ODI runs in 97 innings, and Hashim Amla, who did it in 101 innings.

When it comes to Women’s ODIs, Mandhana obliterated the previous benchmark by 17 innings. Notably, the record previously belonged to Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies, who scored 5000 ODI runs in 129 innings. The top five now includes Smriti, Taylor, Suzie Bates (136), Mithali Raj (144), and Charlotte Edwards (156).

Smriti vs Kohli

Difference between Smriti Mandhana and other fastest players to 5000 ODI runs (HT)

Mandhana is now the fastest Indian to 5000 ODI runs, beating Virat Kohli to the feat by two innings. But these numbers tell only a part of the story. Two structural realities frame this achievement differently.

Opportunity gap: Women still play fewer ODIs per year than men. That means fewer innings to smooth dips in form; every match carries greater statistical weight for Mandhana.

Schedule Volatility: While this problem is much less now, the tours in Women’s cricket get compressed, the windows are tighter, and maintaining form is exponentially trickier.

Record-breaking day for Mandhana

The 5000 runs in the ODI career with some more milestones. When Mandhana went past 18 during the innings, she became the first women’s cricketer to score 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. The previous best was by Belinda Clark of Australia, 970 runs in 1997.

She also became the youngest player to reach 5,000 ODI runs in women’s ODIs at 29 years and 86 days.