Mithali Raj was born on 3rd December 1982 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. She belonged to a typical Tamil family. Her father’s name is Dorai Raj, her mother’s name is Leela Raj, and her brother’s name is Mithun Raj.
She started playing cricket at the age of 10 years. In the
movie, it is shown that she was inspired by her friend named Noorie. She lived
in Hyderabad. Her brother loved cricket and dreamt of becoming a cricketer, but
the future chose her.
School Years
She attended Keyes High School, Secunderabad. Sampat Kumar
was so amazed when he saw her playing that he motivated her family to let her
play. He coached her alongside her brother. She was the first girl at the
academy.
While playing, she used to often drag her backfoot, so
Sampat nailed her backfoot to the ground. She was told that he is a strict
couch. She enjoyed dancing too. Her mom wanted her to explore a career in
Bharatanatyam, but her father wanted her to become a cricketer. As the days
passed, she improved her game.
She was called ‘Women Sachin.’ She later completed her
intermediate studies at Kasturba Gnadhi’s Junior College for Girls,
Secunderabad. She played well in her national selection match and was selected
for the national team.
Her family was very happy when she was selected. In her
background, no girl had ever explored cricket. That is why her grandparents did
not accept this news.
Early Career
During her play for railways in domestic competitions, she
played with stars like Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra, and Anju Jain for Air India.
She made her ODI debut against Ireland at the age of 16 in Milton Keynes on
June 26th, 1999, and scored an unbeaten 114 runs.
Before her first match, she got the news that her former
coach Sampat Kumar had passed away. She made her test debut against England at Taunton,
scoring 214 runs. Thus she broke Karen Rolton’s world record of 209 runs for
the highest individual test score by any women's player. During her initial
years, she saw the disrespect their team faced and decided to fight for their
respect.
When she joined the Women’s Cricket Association of India
(WCAI), she faced a lot of ragging, but these things made her strong. As a
result of her performance in several matches, her teammates started to respect
her. She made her T20 debut on 5th August 2006 against England.
Captainship
In 2005, she was appointed India's permanent captain. She
led the Indian team to five world cups. India reached the finals of two world
cups, 2005 and 2017, under her captaincy. Belinda Clark and Mitali Raj are the
only two women cricketers who have captained their country in more than two
world cups.
Records and Achievements
She became the first women cricketer and the third cricketer
ever (after Javed Miandad of Pakistan and Sachin Tendulkar of India) to play in
six cricket world cups.
She created a world record by being the first cricketer to
score more than 6000 runs in the history of women’s cricket. After she became
captain, she wrote a letter to the Indian cricket board to merge and become
one. This is because they didn’t have enough sponsors.
The board finally agreed. But even after merging, the Indian
women's team wasn't given enough respect. Their basic needs were their jersey,
travel facilities, sponsors, more matches, and kits. Such kind of treatment hit
the sentiments of Raj and other team members.
Statistics of Runs Scored
Mithali Raj has played 12 test matches, 19 innings, scored
699 runs, and has a high score of 214 runs. She has an average of 43.68. She
has one 100’s and four 50’s. As a captain, she has led the team in eight
matches, in which she has batted 14 innings, scored 386 runs, a high score of
78 runs, and an average of 32.16.
She holds the record for the highest number of runs scored
in an innings (214 runs). She stands at the 24th position among the most runs
in a career (699) in the history of women's cricket. She has 232 ODI matches in
which she has played 211 innings.
Her total runs are 7805, with a high score of 125 runs. She
has an average of 50.68, seven 100’s and sixty-four 50’s. As a captain, she has
led the side in 155 matches in which she has played 139 innings and scored a
total of 5319 runs. She holds the record for the most runs in a career (7805)
so far.
She has played around 89 T20 matches, out of which she has
batted 84 innings with total runs of 2364 (the 13th highest runs in a career).
The highest score she has in an inning is 97 runs (41st highest overall). As a
captain, she has played 32 matches in which she has played 30 innings.
Contributions in Women’s World Cup
2017
The World Cup began on 24 June 2017. India faced England in
the second match of the World Cup, where they scored 283 runs and won
comfortably. India faced the West Indies in their second match, which India won
by seven wickets.
In the third match, India defeated Pakistan by 95 runs. In
the fourth match, India beat Sri Lanka by 16 runs. In the fifth match, South
Africa defeated India by 115 runs. In the sixth match, Australia beat India by eight
wickets. In the seventh and final knock-out stage match against New Zealand,
India won by 186 runs. Mithali scored 409 runs, making her the second-highest
run-scorer during the World Cup.
India defeated Australia in the semi-finals by 36 runs.
Unfortunately, India was defeated by England in the final by nine runs. India’s
dream to bring the world cup trophy home for the first time was shattered, but
they managed to get the respect they needed from people. This was indeed a
great achievement for the team.
Contributions in ICC Women’s Championship
In the 2014-17, ICC Women’s Championship, Raj scored 535
runs in 17 matches, the most by an Indian captain in an ODI series. Raj has
captained 155 matches, the highest by any women's captain, and won 89 matches,
the most by any women’s captain in ODI.
She has also captained 28 matches at an ICC World Cup, the
most by a player. She has led the team to four consecutive Asia Cup titles:
2005-06, 2006, 2007, 2008, when they defeated Sri Lanka in the finals, and in
2012 when they defeated Pakistan in the finals. With an unbeaten 50 runs in the
second innings, she led the team to its first series victory against England in
England.
Retirement
Mithali Raj played her last international match against
South Africa at the 2022 ICC World Cup in March. Although India lost the game,
she scored 68 runs leading the team to 274 runs.
On 8th June 2022, Mitha; announced her retirement from all
formats of international cricket. Mithali Raj wrote,” I set out as a little
girl on the journey to wear the India blues as representing your country is the
highest honor.”
She went on to write that she feels it's the most
appropriate time to call the curtains on her playing career as the team is in
the hands of some talented young players, and the future of Indian cricket is
bright.
She even mentions that even though her journey has ended,
she would like to stay connected with the game. She would like to contribute to
women's cricket growth in India and the world over. She thanks the BCCI and all
her fans for their support.
Post-Retirement
“Life has been on a fast track for several years; I don't
have to plan the day, week, or the next series.
I have got a lot of time to pursue things that I wanted to
do but couldn't give enough time for. My training continues in terms of
fitness”. She spoke in an interview on Republic T.V.
Way Forward
She had calm composure on the crease. Sachin’s career lasted
from December 18th, 1999, to March 18, 2012 (22 years and 91 days). Mithali
Raj’s career lasted from 26th June 1999 to 27th March 2022 (22 years, 275
days). When I was small, there were only male cricketers to look up to, but
today there are even female cricketers to admire.
Written by Claton Suares Borges
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