Smriti Mandhana's gender-defying rise serves lifeline for girls fighting to be seen

While Smriti Mandhana may not look back on her 124 against Hong Kong in the Women’s Asia Cup as one of the finest knocks of her career, it is one that will live rent-free in her mind. It was the innings that carried her past Mithali Raj’s tally of 10,868 runs and made her the new all-time leading run scorer in women’s internationals with 10,880 runs.

The southpaw also moved ahead of Australia’s legendary captain Meg Lanning and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt to become the player with the most centuries (18) in women’s international cricket.

Mandhana’s achievements stretch far beyond the women’s game. She is venturing into territory no Indian, man or woman, has ever reached. She holds the record for the most runs (4,681) in T20Is across genders, sitting 450 runs clear of India’s next best, Rohit Sharma, who has 4,231.

The 30-year-old also owns the record for the most fours (632) in T20Is across genders, with Babar Azam next on the list with 477. She is the fastest Indian to 5,000 ODI runs, reaching the mark in 112 innings, two innings quicker than Virat Kohli.

Mandhana also holds India’s record for the fastest ODI century, reaching three figures in 50 balls against Australia in September last year. Virat Kohli’s 52-ball hundred against Australia in Jaipur on October 16 remains the fastest by an Indian in men’s ODIs.

Milestones may not matter much to most international athletes, and Mandhana is one of them. She admitted she had no idea she had gone past Mithali on September 3 in Dubai. Her records, especially those she holds across genders, carry immense weight when viewed through the eyes of the little girls who dream of following her path.

Patriarchy remains deeply entrenched in the Indian subcontinent. Many women in the region are still expected to focus primarily on household chores and caregiving.

The fortunate few who get the opportunity to work are often encouraged to choose safer professions, limiting their access to a wide range of career possibilities. Women are expected to dress and behave modestly, with the burden of cultural respectability placed on their shoulders. Marriage is widely seen as the defining milestone of a woman’s life, and many are compelled to sacrifice personal ambitions to prioritise family expectations.

Women are expected to be polite, agreeable, compliant and financially dependent on men, even when they are fully capable of earning on their own.

These stereotypes are countless, and women confront them every single day. Mandhana’s meteoric rise and her record-breaking spree across genders serve as a beacon of hope, a reminder to every young girl who goes to bed believing that tomorrow will bring her a step closer to smashing those stereotypes over the boundary line.