IND-W vs ENG-W: Smriti Mandhana enters elite club with maiden T20I century, powers India to 97-run win against England Women

Smriti Mandhana on Saturday made history by becoming the first Indian woman to score centuries in all international formats, achieving a stunning maiden T20I hundred against England at Trent Bridge. The stand-in captain, filling in for Harmanpreet Kaur, scored 112 runs off just 62 balls – the highest individual score by an Indian woman in T20Is. Mandhana reached her century in 51 balls, hitting 15 fours and three sixes, surpassing Kaur’s previous record of 103. Her innings helped India post a formidable total of 210/5, their highest T20I score against England.

The left-handed batter's aggressive play included bold shots against England’s top spinner Sophie Ecclestone and a series of boundaries off pacer Lauren Bell. With this performance, she joined an elite group of global cricketers – Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, Laura Wolvaardt, and Beth Mooney – who have achieved centuries in all formats.

Mandhana’s leadership was evident as she made up for opener Shafali Verma’s slow start (20 off 22), creating a 77-run opening partnership before adding 94 vital runs with Harleen Deol (43 off 23). Despite Deol being dropped on 26 by Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Mandhana showed no mercy, dominating England’s bowling attack from the fourth over onward. She targeted left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, hitting three boundaries in one over, and struck Ecclestone for two sixes in the seventh over. Her aggressive approach pushed India past the 200-run mark – only their second 200+ total in T20Is – while her partnership with Verma became the most prolific 50+ stand duo (21) in women’s T20I history, surpassing the record held by Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney.

Although Lauren Bell took 3/27 late in the innings, including the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues for a golden duck, Mandhana’s exceptional performance had already secured India’s dominance.

India dismissed England for 113 runs in just 14.5 overs to secure the victory. Shree Charani, who made her T20I debut for India on Saturday, took four wickets for 12 runs in 3.5 overs, while Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav each sent two English players back to the pavilion.

Charani becomes the second Indian bowler, following Sravanthi Naidu, to achieve four wickets on her T20I debut. Naidu debuted for India against Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar on March 9, 2014, and claimed four wickets for 9 runs in three overs.

For England, captain Nat Sciver-Brunt scored 66 runs off 42 balls, including 10 fours, but the rest of the batting lineup struggled to contribute.

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