Mithali Raj became the first woman cricketer from India to score 10,000 international runs during the ODI against South Africa but her story is very inspiring.
Follow Us
In school, her major passion was classical dancing. Be it Kathak or Bharatnatyam, she had excelled herself in the arts in all her formative years. However, this youngster had other ideas. In 1999, at the age of 16, she decided to show her mettle in cricket. Women’s cricket had not made much progress in India but she changed the entire landscape of cricket forever.
22 years since her debut against Ireland in Milton Keynes, Mithali Raj has become the trendsetter for women’s cricket. During the third ODI against South Africa at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, Mithali scaled a monumental summit
The 38-year-old became the first women cricketer from India to hit 10,000 international runs in cricket. Mithali went past the landmark and the feat is indeed phenomenal. Mithali has crossed 7000 ODI runs and is the first player in history to reach this milestone. In 89 Twenty20 Internationals, she has 2364 runs. In Tests, she has 663 runs giving her a grand total of 10,001.
Mithali’s tenure of 22 years in international cricket makes her the longest among active players. She is one of the few cricketers to be still playing international cricket from the 90s. Her tally of 54 fifties in ODIs is the most by any cricketer. In the century list, she is behind Meg Lanning, Suzie Bates, Charlotte Edwards and Karen Rolton.
In Tests, Mithali is only one of the seven women cricketers to have hit a double century. Kirsty Bond of New Zealand was the first woman cricketer to achieve the feat. Karen Rolton became the second when Australia took on England in 2001. Mithali achieved the feat when she hit 214 against England in Taunton in 2002. Kiran Baluch of Pakistan holds the highest individual score when she smashed 242 against West Indies in Karachi in 2004.
Michelle Goszko and Joanne Broadbent of Australia are the other players who have hit double tons in Tests. Kathak/Bharatnatyam may have lost a supreme talent, but cricket fans will be grateful. Mithali has put India women’s cricket on the world map. Whatever success the Indian team has achieved in the recent past is due to the exploits of Mithali.
