Smriti Mandhana decodes the blueprint behind her record-shattering knock in Women's Asia Cup 2026
Team India delivered a scintillating performance, razing Hong Kong to smithereens in Dubai. India secured a place in the semi-finals with a game to spare, and Smriti Mandhana ruffled too many historical feathers to climb to the top of the charts.
Mandhana smashed 124 off just 64 balls, smashing 14 fours and seven sixes, leaving the Hong Kong bowlers in sixes and sevens. She became the woman with the leading number of international centuries across all formats, surging past Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt as she chronicled her 18th ton.
She also became the only Indian woman cricketer to register a second WT20I century while leapfrogging Mithali Raj with a tally of 10,880 runs to become the leading run-scorer in women's international cricket. She earned the Player of the Match award for her efforts. At the post-match presentation, she discussed her century and explained her strategy going into the game.
Dedicating the century to her family, Mandhana said, "We’re not really aware of (the opposition). We had seen a few videos, but not really aware. We’re playing them for the first time, so when you come against a bowler who you don’t know a lot, you have to just forget that you’ve played whatever cricket. You just have to go, watch the ball, and I think it was more about just adjusting to the pace."
Smriti also missed out on a couple of full-tosses inside the powerplay. Reflecting on those, Mandhana added, " I would say that full tosses are not my strength (laughs). I’m happy that I could get away with a few of the full tosses today. I think any top-order batter would say that sometimes full tosses can go for a six, or you can get out."
