Women’s World Cup 2025: Tazmin Brits’ record-breaking century topples Smriti Mandhana and Meg Lanning’s milestones

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South African opener Tazmin Brits delivered a masterclass in the run-chase against New Zealand Women at the World Cup 2025, registering her seventh career ODI century. Her explosive knock of 101 off just 89 balls anchored the successful pursuit of the 232-run target in Indore, driving her team to a crucial victory. The inning was immediately historic, as Brits shattered two major records held by established stars of world cricket.

South African batter Brits dominated the New Zealand bowling attack in Match 7 of the Women’s World Cup, powering the run-chase with a sensational century that instantly wrote her name into the history books. Chasing a competitive target of 232 runs, Brits was relentless at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, crafting a match-winning total of 101 runs in just 89 balls, demonstrating both aggression and control over the White Ferns’ bowlers.

Brits’ innings was a thrilling display of strokeplay, featuring a staggering 15 boundaries alongside a massive hit for six, putting immense pressure on the opposition attack. This century was particularly significant because it marked her fifth ODI hundred in the 2025 calendar year, a phenomenal run of form that established a new world record for consistency.

This incredible achievement secures her position as the player with the most ODI centuries in a calendar year in the history of Women’s ODI cricket, showcasing her unmatched run-scoring ability. In doing so, Brits effectively moved past the previous benchmark set by India’s star opener, Smriti Mandhana, who had previously recorded four hundreds in 2024, and who also has four centuries to her name so far in the current 2025 calendar year.

The Proteas opener’s exceptional purple patch is further highlighted by the fact that this specific century was her fourth hundred achieved across her last five ODI innings, showcasing incredible conversion ability. The speed of her scoring was equally impressive, with the milestone being reached off just 87 balls, the fastest ODI century of her own career, cementing her dominance.

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Beyond setting a new calendar year record, Brits simultaneously shattered another major record related to the longevity of century scoring, confirming her extraordinary rise to the elite echelon of ODI cricket.

Through the course of her powerful 101 run masterclass against New Zealand, the South African opener registered her seventh career ODI hundred, reaching this landmark in a historically minimal number of innings played. Specifically, Brits required a mere 41 innings at the crease to accumulate her seven centuries, securing the record for the least innings taken by any batter in the history of Women’s ODI cricket to achieve the seven-ton milestone.

This incredible feat successfully bettered the long-standing record previously held by the celebrated former Australian captain, Meg Lanning, who needed 44 innings to reach her seventh ODI hundred, showcasing the depth of her talent. The margin of difference, though small, represents a significant mark of superiority in terms of conversion rate and early career dominance, placing Brits ahead of almost every legend of the game.

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This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.