India’s Queens of Cricket Rewrite History
India’s opening pair Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal etched their names in golden letters at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.
The duo put up a phenomenal 212-run opening partnership, marking the highest-ever stand for India Women in World Cup history.
Previously, Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur had shared a 184-run partnership against West Indies in 2022 — but this time, Mandhana and Rawal went miles ahead.
💥 The Highest-Scoring Partnership of 2025
The year 2025 has been magical for this dynamic Indian pair. Together, Mandhana and Rawal have scored 1557 runs in ODIs — the highest partnership tally in women’s cricket history, and second overall behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar–Sourav Ganguly (1635 runs, 1998) partnership.
| Rank | Pair | Runs | Average | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Sachin Tendulkar & Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 1635 | 58.39 | 1998 |
| 🥈 | Smriti Mandhana & Pratika Rawal (IND-W) | 1557 | 77.85 | 2025 |
| 🥉 | Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill (IND) | 1523 | 72.52 | 2023 |
🏏 Fourth Pair With Multiple 200+ Stands
Mandhana and Rawal have now joined the elite list of pairs with multiple 200+ partnerships in Women’s ODIs, alongside:
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Meg Lanning & Ellyse Perry (Australia)
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Tazmin Brits & Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)
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Tammy Beaumont & Amy Jones (England)
This achievement places them among the most consistent and dominant opening pairs in women’s cricket.
💯 Third Instance of Both Openers Scoring Centuries in a World Cup Innings
This match marked only the third instance in Women’s World Cup history where both openers scored centuries in the same innings:
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Lynne Thomas & Enid Bakewell (England, 1973)
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Lindsay Reeler & Ruth Buckstein (Australia, 1988)
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Smriti Mandhana & Pratika Rawal (India, 2025)
⚡ Pratika Rawal’s Record-Breaking Start
Young opener Pratika Rawal has taken the cricket world by storm. She reached 1000 ODI runs in just 23 innings — the joint-fastest in women’s cricket history, equaling Australia’s Lindsay Reeler.
Even more impressive, she achieved this feat in just 304 days from her debut — the fastest ever by any player (breaking Laura Wolvaardt’s 734-day record).
🔥 Smriti Mandhana’s Stellar 2025 — A Year of Dominance
For Smriti Mandhana, 2025 has been a dream year. With five ODI centuries, she now holds the joint record for most centuries in a calendar year (tied with Tazmin Brits).
She now has 14 ODI centuries — second only to Meg Lanning (15) — and 17 international centuries overall, making her the joint-highest in women’s cricket history.
💪 Queen of Sixes
Mandhana has smashed 31 sixes in 2025, breaking Lizelle Lee’s 2017 record (28 sixes).
She now stands as the most aggressive and consistent power-hitter in women’s cricket.
🇮🇳 India’s Golden Year in Women’s Cricket
The Indian Women’s team has scored 10 individual hundreds in ODIs in 2025, the most by any team in a single calendar year.
This surpasses the previous record of 8 hundreds each held by New Zealand (2018) and South Africa (2025).
India’s batting unit has truly emerged as a global powerhouse.
🏆 Key Highlights at a Glance
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✅ 212-run partnership – Highest ever by India Women in World Cup history
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✅ 1557 runs in 2025 – Record for any women’s ODI pair in a single year
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✅ 5 centuries in 2025 – Mandhana’s career-best performance
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✅ 1000 runs in 23 innings – Pratika’s world-record milestone
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✅ 31 sixes in 2025 – Most in a calendar year by any woman cricketer
💬 Conclusion: The New Era of Indian Women’s Cricket
Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal are not just record-breakers — they are redefining the future of women’s cricket.
Their dominance, consistency, and chemistry at the crease have made them global icons and have put India Women’s Cricket on the world map like never before.
This partnership will be remembered as the moment Indian women’s cricket truly entered its golden age.
