Often hailed as the face of modern women’s cricket, the Indian female international cricketer Smriti Mandhana is followed by millions of cricket aficionados from all over the world and is widely regarded as one of the greatest international cricketers in the history of women’s cricket. Born on 18 July 1996 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Smriti Mandhana started off with her professional cricket training at the young age of twelve along with her father and brother.
Owing to her ground-breaking exploits on the field, Mandhana was selected to play Maharashtra’s senior cricket team at the young age of fifteen. From scoring her debut century in a domestic one-day match in 2013 to making her star-studded international debut in the same year, the trailblazing Indian international cricketing stalwart Smriti Mandhana has undoubtedly achieved some of the most far-fetched milestones in her career that will continue to inspire the young generation of cricket aficionados.
In this article we will take a look at the top four most celebrated milestones in the cricketing journey of Smriti Mandhana.
Top 4 Milestones in Smriti Mandhana’s Cricket Rise
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Mandhana’s Domestic Double Century in 2013
At the young age of sixteen, Mandhana announced her arrival in domestic cricket with a roaring double century while representing Maharashtra in a women’s domestic one-day match against Gujarat in 2013. The Indian cricketing sensation Mandhana played a fearless innings against the lethal bowling attack of Gujarat and smashed a roaring total of 224 runs.
Mandhana’s spine-chilling inning not only left the selectors and crowd at the Alembic Ground in Vadodara absolutely stunned but also opened the doors for the Indian national team for the young cricketer. Mandhana’s fearless innings grabbed her enormous praise and recognition from the millions of cricket aficionados from all over the world and also paved her way into the Indian women’s national cricket team in the same calendar year.
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Mandhana’s International Debut in 2013
Owing to her explosive innings in the one-day domestic match against Gujarat, Smriti Mandhana received her maiden call-up from the Indian women’s national cricket team at the age of sixteen in 2013. Mandhana made her highly awaited international debut for the Indian women’s national cricket team at the age of sixteen against Bangladesh in an ODI match on 5 April 2013 at the iconic Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad as an opening batter.
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Mandhana displayed an unmatched balance and composure on the field while opening the innings for the Indian side and scored a total of twenty-five runs off thirty-five deliveries for India against Bangladesh on 5 April 2013 at the Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera), Ahmedabad. Mandhana’s innings played a crucial role in leading India to a spine-chilling victory against Bangladesh by a huge margin of 46 runs.
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Mandhana’s Path-Breaking Captaincy
The Indian international cricketing sensation Smriti Mandhana was named as the vice-captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team in 2018 for the ICC Women’s World T20 tournament, with Harmanpreet Kaur as the captain. As of January 2026, Mandhana continues to serve as the vice-captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team and was also officially named vice‑captain of India’s Women’s ODI squad for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 by the BCCI in August 2025. As a vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has been instrumental in leading the Indian women’s national cricket team to numerous coveted victories including the most recent 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup victory.
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RCB’s Maiden WPL Title Win
In addition to leading the Indian women’s national cricket team to a path-breaking streak of triumphs on an international stage, Smriti Mandhana has also successfully led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad to their maiden title victory in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 edition. As the skipper of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad, Smriti Mandhana gracefully and fearlessly led the team to a phenomenal victory in the tournament’s final game against the Delhi Capitals on 17 March 2024.
Smriti Mandhana received massive recognition and fame from the hardcore fans of both the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) for leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise to their first-ever title victory at the end of the season.
