Once again, Smriti Mandhana has demonstrated why she is the heartbeat of Indian women’s cricket, by coming up with a record-breaking performance in the ICC Women’s World Cup final against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2. The classy left-handed opener who is widely recognised for her calmness even when pressured, has been simply magnificent all the way through the tournament, and her recent stint has taken her career to a completely different level.

With this innings, Mandhana became the highest run scorer by an Indian batter in a single Women's ODI World Cup edition, racking up 434 runs to beat Mithali Raj's 409 of the 2017 World Cup in England. While India came very close to winning in 2017, the campaign this year looks better, largely due to Mandhana’s reliability and her positive style of play at the top of the order.

Smriti Mandhana's flying knock starts the tone in final

Smriti Mandhana 022911985 16x9 0

In the last game, Mandhana teamed up with the very aggressive Shafali Verma to give India a sky-high start. The pair pretty much had the South African bowlers in a stranglehold from the very beginning, they got to their 50-run partnership in only seven overs, which was great for the DY Patil Stadium crowd’s energy. So, even though South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt, who is the current top run-scorer of the tournament with 470 runs, might still be threatened by Mandhana’s strong knock to take the overall highest run tally of the World Cup.

Mandhana got out to Chloe Tryon in the 18th over but she had already been instrumental in India’s innings. The trio of Mandhana, Shafali, and the fifty-star Shafali’s knockout was the road leading to a century stand that helped India post a decent total in the final clash.

India’s Highest Run-Scorers in a Single Women’s World Cup Edition

Smriti Mandhana – 9 matches, 434 runs (2025)

Mithali Raj – 9 matches, 409 runs (2017)

Poonam Raut – 9 matches, 381 runs (2017)

Harmanpreet Kaur – 9 matches, 359 runs (2017)

Smriti Mandhana – 7 matches, 327 runs (2021/22)