Mithali Raj

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Mithali Raj
Raj in 2018 Women's T20 World Cup
Personal information
Born (1982-12-03) 3 December 1982 (age 41)[1]
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
BattingRight-handed
RoleTop Order Batter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 56)14 January 2002 v England
Last Test16 June 2021 v England
ODI debut (cap 56)26 June 1999 v Ireland
Last ODI3 July 2021 v England
ODI shirt no.3
T20I debut (cap 9)5 August 2006 v England
Last T20I9 March 2019 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Railways Women
2018Supernovas
2019–presentVelocity
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I
Matches 11 217 89
Runs scored 669 7,304 2,364
Batting average 44.60 51.26 37.52
100s/50s 1/4 7/58 0/17
Top score 214 125* 97*
Balls bowled 72 171 6
Wickets 0 8 0
Bowling average - 11.37 -
5 wickets in innings 0 0 -
10 wickets in match 0 0 -
Best bowling - 3/4 -
Catches/stumpings 11/– 57/- 19/–
Source: CricInfo, 3 July 2021

Mithali Dorai Raj (born 3 December 1982) is an Indian cricketer. She is the Test and ODI captain of women's national cricket team.[2][3] She is a right-handed opening batswoman and sometimes right-arm leg break bowler. Raj is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket.

She is the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket and the only female cricketer to surpass the 7,000 run mark in Women's One Day International matches.[4][5] she is the first player to score seven consecutive 50s in ODIs.[6] Raj also holds the record for most half-centuries in WODIs.[7] In June 2018 during the 2018 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup, she became the first player from India to score 2000 runs in T20Is, and also became the first woman cricketer to reach 2002 WT20I runs.[8][9][10]

In 2005, she became the captain of the side. Raj is the only player (female) to have captained India in more than one ICC ODI World Cup final, doing so twice in 2005 and 2017.[11][12] On 1 February 2019, during India's series against New Zealand Women, Raj became the first woman to play in 200 ODI matches.[13] In September 2019, she announced her retirement from T20Is to focus on ODI cricket.[14] In 2019, she became the first woman to complete 20 years in international cricket.[15]

She is the recipient of several national and international awards, including the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, Arjuna Award in 2003, and the Padma Shri in 2015, both by the Government of India.

In July 2021, in the third WODI match against England, Raj became the leading run-scorer in women's international cricket.[16] She went past Charlotte Edwards' previous record of 10,273 runs.[17]

Early life[change | change source]

Mithali Raj was born on 3 December 1982 in a Tamil family in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Her father is Dorai Raj, who was an Airman (Warrant Officer) in the Indian Air Force, and mother is Leela Raj. Raj started to play cricket at age of 10. She lives in Hyderabad, Telangana.[18][19] She attended Keyes High School for Girls in Hyderabad. She attended Kasturba Gandhi Junior College for Women in Secunderabad for her intermediate studies. She began cricket coaching in her school days along with her elder brother.[20]

Youth and domestic career[change | change source]

While playing for Railways in domestic competition, Raj began her career by playing with stars like Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra and Anju Jain for Air India.[21]

International career[change | change source]

Mithali has played all three cricket formats for India, Test, One Day and T20. [22] She was named among the probables in the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup when she was just 14, but couldn't make it to the final squad.[23] She made her One Day International debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes and scored unbeaten 114 runs. She made her Test debut in the 2001–02 season against South Africa at Lucknow. On 17 August 2002, at the age of 19, in her third Test, she broke Karen Rolton's record of world's highest individual Test score of 209*, scoring a new high of 214[24] against England in the second and final Test at County Ground, Taunton.[25] The record has since been surpassed by Kiran Baluch of Pakistan who scored 242 against West Indies in March 2004.[26]

Raj was ill with a strain of typhoid during the CricInfo Women's World Cup in 2002, hindering India's progress.[27] However, she then led them to their first World Cup final in 2005, in South Africa, where they met Australia who proved too strong.

In August 2006, she led the side to their first ever Test and Series victory in England and wrapped up the year winning the Asia Cup – the second time in 12 months – without dropping a single game.[28]

She led the Indian team to the finals in the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup where the team lost to Australia.[29] She is a part-time leg-break bowler as well. She is a recipient of the Arjuna award for the year 2003. She currently tops the batting table with 703 ratings. In addition to her ability with the bat, Raj rolls her arm over bowling leg-spinners and providing variety to the attack.[source?]

At the 2013 Women's World Cup, Raj was the No.1 Cricketer in the ODI chart among women. She scored 100s: 1 and 50s: 4 in Test cricket, 100s: 5 and 50s: 50 with best bowling of 3/4 in ODIs and 50s: 10 in T20s.[30]

In February 2017, she became the second player to score 5,500 runs in WODIs.[6] Raj is the first player to captain most matches for India in ODI and T20I.[31][32]

In July 2017, she became the first player to score 6,000 runs in WODIs. She led the Indian team to the final of the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup where the team lost to England by nine runs.[33][34][35]

In December 2017, she was named as one of the players in the ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year.[36][37]

In October 2018, she was named in India's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[38][39]

In September 2019, Raj retired from T20I Cricket. She dreams to bring the World Cup to her country by 2021. "After representing India in T20 internationals since 2006, I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 one-day World Cup," she said in a BCCI press statement.[40][41]

In November 2020, Raj was nominated for the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade, and the award for women's ODI cricketer of the decade.[42][43]

In May 2021, she was named as the captain of India's Test squad for their one-off match against the England women's cricket team.[44]

Coaching career[change | change source]

Raj was appointed as the batting consultant for India women's national cricket team, and had played as a player-coach.[45]

Records[change | change source]

Raj at the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup
  • Mithali is nicknamed "Lady Tendulkar of Indian Women's cricket", as she is currently the all-time leading run-scorer for India in all formats, including Tests, ODIs and T20Is.[46]
  • During the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, Raj scored her seventh consecutive half-century and made a record for most consecutive fifties by a player.[47][48]
  • Mithali is the 1st Indian and 5th woman cricketer overall to score over 1,000 World Cup runs.[49]
  • She holds the record for playing the most consecutive Women's One Day Internationals for a team (109).[50]

Controversies[change | change source]

Mithali Raj was involved in controversy with cricket management due to her attitude towards the game during the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20.[51] She accused the coach Ramesh Powar and BCCI COA member Diana Edulji in a letter to BCCI of bias, humiliation at not including her in the T20 world cup semifinals.[52] Powar in turn criticized that Raj had threatened that she would retire from the game of the cricket when asked to play down the batting order.[53] He also accused Raj of 'blackmailing and pressurising coaches' apart from causing division in the team during the recently concluded World T20. He added, "despite being a senior player in the team she puts in minimum inputs in team meetings. She could not understand & adapt to the team plan. She ignored her role and batted for own milestones. Lack of keeping the momentum going which was putting extra pressure on other batters."[54] Raj's 50 against Ireland in the same tournament in which she ended up playing 25 dot balls was also criticized by the coach, Powar.[55]

Her relationship with the T20 team's captain Harmanpreet Kaur is also said to be strained.[56]

However after reappointment of Ramesh Powar as Head coach[57] of Indian womens' cricket team in May 2021 , the two have reconciled. Mithali and Harmanpreet also confirmed no bad blood against each other across various interviews.

Awards[change | change source]

President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Mithali Raj, New Delhi
Year Award Notes
2003 Arjuna Award[58]
2015 Padma Shri India's fourth highest civilian award[59]
2017 Youth Sports Icon of Excellence Award At the Radiant Wellness Conclave, Chennai[60]
2017 Vogue Sportsperson of the Year At Vogue's 10th anniversary[61]
2017 BBC 100 Women[62]
2017 Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World

Outside cricket[change | change source]

Personal life and interests[change | change source]

Raj is a Bharatanatyam dancer.[63]

In popular culture[change | change source]

After the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures acquired the rights to make a feature film on Raj's life. She said "Hoping that this movie inspires more people, especially young girls to take up sports as a career."[64]

The biopic is in planning and the shoot is scheduled to start in 2019. Raj said "I think Priyanka Chopra will be a great choice (to play me in the biopic). Our personalities match a lot. I am not a movie buff, so I'd love the experts to do their job."[65] However, it was decided that Taapsee Pannu will play the role of Mithali Raj in the biopic named Shabaash Mithu. It will be directed by Rahul Dholakia in 2020.[66]

References[change | change source]

Citations[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Mithali Raj turns 37, Twitterati pours wishes for India's women's ODI skipper". www.timesnownews.com. 3 December 2019.
  2. ↑ Mithali Raj ESPN Cricinfo
  3. ↑ "Raj finds life lonely at the top". Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Record-setting Raj top of the women's charts". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Mithali Raj becomes leading run-scorer in women's ODI cricket; surpasses England's Charlotte Edwards". Indian Express. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Meshram-Raj and spin quartet to the fore in emphatic India win". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Most fifties in career | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Mithali Raj edges Virat Kohli, becomes first India cricketer to score 2000 T20I runs". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  9. ↑ NDTVSports.com. "Women's Asia Cup: Mithali Raj Becomes First Woman To Reach 2000 T20I Runs – NDTV Sports". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "'Consistent run machine': Mithali Raj becomes FIRST Indian to score 2000 runs in T20Is; fans ECSTATIC". The Indian Express. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "India's chance to spur a revolution". Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Team of the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 announced". Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Mithali Raj at 200: The best of a record-breaking career". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  14. ↑ "Mithali Raj retires from T20I cricket". ESPNcricinfo. 2019-09-03. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  15. ↑ "Mithali Raj becomes 1st woman to complete 20 years in international cricket". Hindustan Times. 2019-10-09. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  16. ↑ "Record-breaking Mithali Raj becomes leading run-scorer in women's international cricket". Times of Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mithali Raj: India captain becomes leading run-scorer in women's cricket". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Mithali Raj on pitch, but 1 1-year wait for 500 yards". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "Indian women will play test cricket after eight years, captain Mithali Raj happy". Patrika Group. No. 4 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Mithali Raj at India Speakers Bureau". India Speakers Bureau.
  21. ↑ Katyal, Surabhi. "9 Things to Know About Mithali Raj – 2nd Woman Cricketer in the World with 5000 ODI Runs". thebetterindia.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "Thank you, Mithali Raj, for being Indian cricket's evergreen woman in blue". Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Mithali Raj – From Bharatnatyam dancer to cricket icon". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "Cricinfo – Women's Test Highest Individual Scores". Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  25. ↑ Mukherjee, Abhishek (16 August 2018). "The day Mithali Raj registered the highest ever Test score". CricketCountry.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  26. ↑ "Most runs in an innings (progressive record holder) in Women's Test matches". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "15 Facts about Mithali Raj - The Pioneer of Indian Women's Cricket". CricTracker. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  28. ↑ Experts, Disha (6 October 2017). Quarterly Current Affairs July-September 2017. ISBN 9789386629593.
  29. ↑ "Why Women's Cricket World Cup final is extra special for Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami". 22 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  30. ↑ "Mithali 200 ODIs player and highest run-scorer". YoGems. 2019-03-01. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  31. ↑ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Individual records (Captains, players, umpires) | Most matches as captain | ESPN Cricinfo". Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  32. ↑ "Records | Women's Twenty20 Internationals | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Most matches as captain | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  33. ↑ "Final, ICC Women's World Cup at London, Jul 23 2017 | Match Commentary | ESPNCricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  34. ↑ World Cup Final Archived 1 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC Sport, 23 July 2017.
  35. ↑ England v India: Women's World Cup final – live! Archived 23 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 23 July 2017.
  36. ↑ "Three Indian Women in ICC Teams". The Hindu. 21 December 2017.
  37. ↑ "Ellyse Perry declared ICC's Women's Cricketer of the Year". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  38. ↑ "Indian Women's Team for ICC Women's World Twenty20 announced". Board of Control for Cricket in India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  39. ↑ "India Women bank on youth for WT20 campaign". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  40. ↑ "Mithali Raj retires from T20I cricket". ESPNCricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  41. ↑ "Mithali Raj is 'motivated' after Sachin Tendulkar shares throwback practice video". India Today. Ist. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  42. ↑ "Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steven Smith, Joe Root nominated for ICC men's cricketer of the decade award". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  43. ↑ "ICC Awards of the Decade announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  44. ↑ "India's Senior Women squad for the only Test match, ODI & T20I series against England announced". Board of Control for Cricket in India. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  45. ↑ "She has also served as a batting consultant for India women's national cricket team and had also played as a player-coach". Republic World. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  46. ↑ "The 34-year-old Padma Shri winner, who made her debut at the age of 16, has often been called the Sachin Tendulkar of Indian women's cricket". India Today. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  47. ↑ Express Web Desk (25 June 2017). "India vs England, ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Mithali Raj creates world record with 7th consecutive fifty". Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  48. ↑ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Fifties in consecutive innings | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  49. ↑ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most runs". Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  50. ↑ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Most consecutive matches for a team | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  51. ↑ "Mithali Raj accuses coach Ramesh Powar of bias: He humiliated me". Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  52. ↑ "Mithali Raj accuses Diana Edulji of bias, claims 'people out to destroy me'". The Indian Express. 2018-11-27. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  53. ↑ "Mithali Raj threatened to retire if she couldn't open - Ramesh Powar". ESPNcricinfo. 2018-11-28. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  54. ↑ "Mithali Raj Accuses CoA Member Diana Edulji, Coach Ramesh Powar Of Bias". Outlook (India). Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  55. ↑ "ab mithali ne 25 dot ball khele". NDTVIndia. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  56. ↑ "Mithali Raj terms Harmanpreet Kaur's decision to back coach's decision to bench me in the semi-final "hurtful" | Cricket News". www.timesnownews.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  57. ↑ "Ramesh Powar Re-Appointed as Head Coach of Indian Women's Cricket team". Times of Sports. 14 May 2021.
  58. ↑ "List of Arjuna Awardees". Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  59. ↑ "Padma Awards 2015". Press Information Bureau. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  60. ↑ "Conclave highlights need for holistic health". www.deccanchronicle.com. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  61. ↑ "Vogue celebrates 10th anniversary with 1st Vogue Women of the Year Awards". Everything Experiential. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  62. ↑ "Mithali Raj features on BBC's 100 Women list - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  63. ↑ From a Classical Dancer to India’s Women Team Captain, Here’s the Story Of Mithali Raj!
  64. ↑ "A biopic on Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj in the works". The Indian Express. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  65. ↑ "Mithali Raj says Priyanka Chopra ideal choice for her biopic - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  66. ↑ "Mithali Raj's biopic 'Shabaash Mithu' confirmed; Taapsee Pannu 'honoured' to portray cricketer's story". 3 December 2019.

Further reading[change | change source]

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