Right-handed batter Mithali Raj is a cricket player from India. Between 1999 and 2022. She was a member of the Indian team and served as captain. Mithali is one of the all-time finest female cricketers and has the most runs scored in women’s international cricket. Mithali Raj took over as India’s captain on an ongoing basis in 2005. She led India twice, in 2005 and 2017, in the ICC ODI World Cup finals, making history as the only female player to do so. On June 8, 2022, Mithali announced her retirement from all international cricket matches.
(Photo from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ )
Early Years of her Life:
On December 3, 1982, Mithali Raj was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Her mother, Leela Raj, is a Tamilian, and her father, Dorai Raj, was a former airman (warrant officer) in the Indian Air Force. When Mithali was ten years old, she first began playing the game. She resides in Telangana’s Hyderabad. Along with her older brother, she began receiving cricket coaching while still a student.
International Career in Cricket:
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Debut in ODI
Mithali Raj was one of the extras when she was just 14 during the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup. But, she was unable to reach the final team. In her debut of One Day International (ODI), which she played at 1999 in Milton Keynes against Ireland, she scored an unbeaten 114 runs.
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Mithali Raj’s Debut in Test Matches:
During the 2001–2002 season, Mithali Raj took part in her first Test match in Lucknow against South Africa. Against England, she established a new record by scoring 214. On August 17, 2002, the second and final Test was held at County Ground in Taunton. During that match she was of 19 years of age. Karen Rolton, who had held the record for the most undefeated scores with 209, was broken by her.
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Mithali Raj in Women’s Cricket World Cup- 2005
India was captained by Mithali Raj to their first Women’s Cricket World Cup final in South Africa in 2005. When Australia won the match.
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Women’s Cricket World Cup- 2013
Mithali Raj was the top female cricketer in the ODI rankings during the 2013 Women’s World Cup.
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Mithali Raj in Women’s Cricket World Cup- 2017
In WODIs, she scored 6,000 runs for the first time in July 2017. In the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup final, she captained the Indian team to World Cup which ended up in a nine-run defeat against England.
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Mithali Raj in Women’s Cricket World Cup- 2022
She was chosen to lead India at the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in January 2022. In which Australia won the title for the seventh time.
Rewards and Records of Mithali Raj:
The first female cricketer to reach 7,000 runs in Women’s One Day International matches is Mithali Raj. Only woman has ever scored half century in seven straight games in the history of the ODI. Mithali Raj is the first cricketer and the first Indian player, male or female, to score 2000 runs in T20 Internationals. She made this history in June 2018 at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. On February 1st, 2019. Mithali Raj became the first female player to participate in 200 ODIs during a match between India and the New Zealand.
Mithali Raj has won several national and international honours, including the Padma Shri in 2015, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021, the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, and the Arjuna Award in 2003.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithali_Raj#cite_note-49
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