New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) India's Smriti Mandhana has been named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World (Women) for 2024, an honour that caps a stellar year where she blended promise with performance to scale new heights in international cricket.

Annesha Ghosh's profile on Mandhana appears in the 2025 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, chronicling a year in which the elegant left-hander amassed 1,659 international runs — the highest by a woman in a calendar year.

Mandhana's consistency was underlined by her four One-Day International centuries, also a record for a woman in a year, while she topped the T20I run charts with 763 runs alongside 747 in ODIs. Her adaptability across formats shone brightly, especially during a remarkable mid-year series against South Africa, where she scored 117, 136 and 90 in successive ODIs, a record 343 runs in a three-match series, a career-best 149 in the one-off Test, and 100 runs in T20Is for just one dismissal.

Reflecting on her purple patch, Mandhana credited a simplified approach to batting. "Scoring five international centuries was mostly down to not thinking much about scoring centuries," she said. "Clearing my mind helped, big time. I reinjected into my muscle memory the habit of batting long — something I did routinely as an Under-19 cricketer."

Mandhana's contribution was all the more significant given the frequent changes at the top of the order, with her opening partner changing seven times during the year. Nearly a quarter of India's 6,739 international runs in 2024 came off her bat, underlining the team’s heavy reliance on her.

Her performances were not just about volume but maturity, notably during the T20 World Cup, where India's early exit coincided with her rare lean patch. She also led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden WPL title, the only silverware she clinched despite her prolific run-scoring.

Towards the close of the year, Mandhana struck vital centuries against New Zealand in Ahmedabad and Australia in Perth. She showed remarkable composure and innovation, combining her traditional off-side flair with greater discipline and patience at the crease.

"The New Zealand ton matured me beyond imagination," Mandhana recalled. "After single-digit scores in the World Cup and tough net sessions, I resisted the cover-drive, my bread-and-butter shot, through the first ten overs. That knock taught me the most about discipline."

At 28, and into her twelfth year of international cricket, Mandhana continues to prove that her success is not merely a product of innate talent, but also of relentless evolution and resilience.

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