Initially inclined towards classical dance, her parents nudged her into playing cricket to overcome her self-confessed laziness. Fortuitously, the decision prompted the mercurial rise of Mithali Raj.
In 1999, Mithali made her ODI debut against Ireland at Milton Keynes and scored an unbeaten 114. Only 16 at the time, she is the youngest woman cricketer to score a century on debut. In 2002, playing only her third Test, Mithali scored 214 runs against England – setting a new record for the best individual score in the longest format. (It is now the second highest.)
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In 2003, Mithali received the Arjuna Award for outstanding achievement in sports. In 2005, she led India into the final of the Women’s World Cup. In 2013, she held the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings for batswomen. In 2015, Mithali received the Padma Shri from the President of India.
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In 2017, Mithali Raj played her fifth, and most likely her final World Cup. Looking back, she has captained the Indian team in over 100 international matches, accumulated over 6000 runs and is the leading run-scorer in women’s One Day International (ODI) cricket. Through the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017, she scored seven consecutive fifties – setting a new record for most consecutive ODI fifties by a woman cricketer. Mithali is also the first woman cricketer to go past the 6000-run mark. She achieved this feat in 182 ODIs with a batting average above 50. With Mithali Raj’s cricketing career completing a full circle, she has regained the No.1 spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batswomen. This puts her at the peak of her career.
Meanwhile, Viacom18 Motion Pictures has acquired the rights to make a movie biopic on Mithali Raj – and her story is befitting for a biopic. The most incredible thing about her career is that she has played, persisted and excelled at the sport at a time when nobody was broadcasting or watching women’s cricket. But the team’s recent foray into the Women’s World Cup final changed all of that – and it could’t have come at a better time. Mithali, on her part, has vehemently proved a point. Here’s hoping that the ‘soon to be made’ movie inspires more young talent to take up sports as a career. For all that Mithali Raj has done for women’s cricket, World Cup crown or not, she is a true legend of the game.
– Varun Kumar | SpreadSports
