There are cricketers who score tons and tons of runs. And then there are those who score tons and tons of runs while making your jaw drop repeatedly. Smriti Mandhana would belong to the second category, without any arguments.

The 25-year-old shattered a few records en route to slamming a magnificent first Test century in the day-night match against Australia in Gold Coast, Queensland on Friday.

Mandhana, of course, became the first Indian woman to hit a century in day-night Tests. She is also the first from the country to reach three figures in the game’s traditional format on Australian soil.

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Mandhana made 127 off 216 balls with the help of 22 boundaries and a six at the Carrara Oval, and added an Indian record of 102 runs in Australia for the second wicket with Punam Raut (36), continuing the good work after putting on 93 with Shafali Verma on a rain-marred opening day.

She brought her century with a short-arm pull shot off Ellyse Perry in the 52nd over.

Mandhana wouldn’t have added to her overnight score of 80 in the second over of Day 2 but Perry overstepped. Replays showed that the catch too might have been debatable. As she said later in the day, she has had the habit of getting out in the 70s, 80s recently, so it was a welcome reprieve and one that enabled her to end the wait for an international century since January 2019.

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The India opener overcame the early jitters and went about her business in a professional manner while playing some lovely shots, including a magnificent straight drive off Annabel Sutherland. She looked set for more but was caught at short mid-off off the bowling Ash Gardner, after playing an uppish drive.

This being her fifth international century, Mandhana’s three-figure scores have all come in overseas matches. The stylish left-hander is yet to score a home ton. Incidentally, Mandhana’s first ODI century and first Test century have both come in Australia.

Smriti Mandhana's international tons

Score Opposition Ground Match start Date
102 v AUS Hobart 5 Feb 2016
106* v WI Taunton 29 Jun 2017
135 v SA Kimberley 7 Feb 2018
105 v NZ Napier 24 Jan 2019
127 v AUS Carrara 30 Sep 2021

While going past 124, Mandhana broke a record that stood since 1949. She now holds the highest ever individual Test score by a visiting cricketer on Australian soil.

Highest Test scores in AUS by visiting batters

Player Runs Ground Start Date
S Mandhana (IND) 127 Carrara 30 Sep 2021
ME Hide (ENG) 124* Sydney 19 Feb 1949
ME Maclagan (ENG) 119 Sydney 4 Jan 1935
CM Edwards (ENG) 114* Sydney 22 Jan 2011
E Bakewell (ENG) 113 Adelaide 27 Dec 1968
JA Brittin (ENG) 112 Perth 13 Dec 1984
MC Robinson (ENG) 102 Adelaide 8 Mar 1958
E Barker (ENG) 100 Melbourne 10 Jan 1969

Mandhana became the ninth Indian woman to score a Test century, and the first ever to do so in Australia. She had already set the record on day one for the highest Test score by an Indian in Australia.

Test centuries for India

Player Inns Test centuries
Sandhya Agarwal 23 4
Hemlata Kala 10 2
Anju Jain 12 1
M Thirush Kamini 3 1
Shubangi Kulkarni 32 1
Smriti Mandhana 6 1
Mithali Raj 19 1
Shanta Rangaswamy 26 1
Punam Raut 6 1

Opening in Test cricket is an art that takes years to master, but despite the frequency with which the longest format matches happen in the women’s game, Mandhana has taken to it like duck to water. In her fourth Test match, she has scored two fifties and a century. And she became only the second Indian opener to score a Test century away from home.

Test centuries for India against Australia

Player Runs Ground Start Date
Sandhya Agarwal 134 Mumbai 10 Feb 1984
Smriti Mandhana 127 Carrara 30 Sep 2021

Test centuries by Indian openers away from home

Player Runs Opposition Ground Match start Date
Sandhya Agarwal 190 v ENG Worcester 12 Jul 1986
Sandhya Agarwal 132 v ENG Blackpool 3 Jul 1986
Smriti Mandhana 127 v AUS Carrara 30 Sep 2021

Mandhana is also now part of the two highest Test partnerships for any wicket by Indian players in Australia.

India's best partnerships in Test in Australia

Partners Wkt Runs Ground Match start date
Smriti Mandhana-Punam Raut 2 102 Carrara 30 Sep 2021
Smriti Mandhana-Shafali Verma 1 93 Carrara 30 Sep 2021
Sandhya Agarwal-Rajani Venugopal 3 84 Sydney 26 Jan 1991

And by scoring a century in Gold Coast, five years after her century in Hobart, Mandhana became the first Indian woman to reach three-figures in both the longest format and the 50-over game against Australia.

All stats for women’s Test matches and courtesy ESPNCricinfo

With PTI inputs