Smriti Mandhana achieved a remarkable milestone at the Arun Jaitley Stadium by scoring the fastest century by an Indian women’s cricketer in ODIs, reaching the mark in just 50 balls during the series decider against Australia.Her exceptional innings continues to keep India competitive in their pursuit of a record chase of 413, overshadowing Australian batter Beth Mooney’s impressive knock of 138.Mandhana’s 50-ball century stands as the second-fastest in women’s ODIs history, only behind Meg Lanning’s 45-ball century against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval in 2012.The Indian vice-captain reached her century with style, executing a slog sweep for six over deep midwicket off Alana King’s bowling. The Delhi crowd responded with enthusiastic applause as she celebrated her fourth ODI hundred against Australia.Mandhana has now equaled New Zealand’s Suzie Bates with 13 ODI centuries, trailing only behind Meg Lanning’s 15 hundreds. She has achieved the feat of scoring consecutive ODI centuries twice, joining England’s Tammy Beaumont as the only other player to accomplish this feat.In 2025, Mandhana has recorded four ODI centuries, matching her achievement from 2024. She shares the current year’s record with South Africa’s Tazmin Brits, who also has four centuries.Her performance remains crucial for India’s pursuit of both a historic series victory and a record-breaking chase. Earlier in the match, she had also set the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian batter in women’s ODIs.
