Smriti Mandhana surpasses Harmanpreet Kaur for huge WPL record after 96 vs Capitals

Smriti Mandhana surpasses Harmanpreet Kaur [Source: @wplt20/x]

RCB Women captain Smriti Mandhana went ballistic against Delhi Capitals in match number 11 of the WPL 2026 season at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, January 17. Chasing 167 for a win, Mandhana unleashed a cracking 96-run knock from just 61 balls with 13 fours and three huge sixes.

Georgia Voll at number three also smeared 54* off 42 balls as the RCB Women romped home to a comprehensive eight-wicket win in just 18.2 overs, thus extending their unbeaten run to four games this WPL 2026 season. 

Fittingly adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for her run-chase masterclass, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana also soared past Mumbai Indians legend and national teammate Harmanpreet Kaur to secure a huge WPL record.

Smriti Mandhana registers a huge WPL record

RCB opener Smriti Mandhana bludgeoned 96 runs from just 61 balls against Delhi Capitals to notch up her fifth WPL half-century and her first of the ongoing WPL 2026 season. The innings also marked Mandhana’s magnum opus WPL batting performance, surpassing her previous best score of 81 from the 2025 edition of the tournament last year.

Smriti Mandhana further soared past national teammate and Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to record the highest individual score by any Indian batter in the history of WPL. Kaur previously listed 95* from just 48 balls against Gujarat Giants Women a couple of years ago during match 16 of the WPL 2024 season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Here is a look at five of the highest individual scores recorded by Indian batters in WPL history.

Highest scores by India batters in WPL

• Smriti Mandhana – 96 off 61 vs Delhi Capitals, WPL 2026
• Harmanpreet Kaur – 95 off 48 vs Gujarat Giants, WPL 2024
• Deepti Sharma – 88* off 60 vs Gujarat Giants, WPL 2024
• Shafali Verma – 84 off 45 vs RCB Women, WPL 2023
• Smriti Mandhana – 81 off 47 vs Delhi Capitals, WPL 2025

Smriti Mandhana blanks Delhi Capitals as RCB remain unbeaten

Despite losing opening partner Grace Harris for just a single early in the innings in a stiff chase of 167, RCB opener and captain Smriti Mandhana remained defiant in her approach. The prolific opening batter shared a counterattacking and a match-defining 142-run partnership for the second wicket with Australia import Georgia Voll.

While Smriti Mandhana anchored RCB’s big win against the Capitals, the legendary opener missed her century by just four runs after she was holed out by Lucy Hamilton at point off Nandani Sharma at the brink of the finishing line. If Mandhana had scored four more runs in the innings, she would have become the first cricketer ever in the history of WPL with a century to her name.

Nonetheless, her innings granted RCB a comprehensive win, and the outcome marked RCB’s fourth successive victory this WPL 2026 season. The only unbeaten side in the competition so far, the RCB Women’s team is placed at the top of the WPL 2026 points table with a formidable NRR of 1.600.