Mithali Raj completes 20,000 career runs

MITHALI Raj, India women’s one-day international (ODI) captain and arguably the best batswoman the country has produced, completed on Tuesday (21) 20,000 runs in her cricketing career.

Raj, 38, achieved the feat while batting in the first ODI against Australia at Harrup Park in Mackay. The Indian captain scored 63 off 107 balls, picking up her 59th half-century of the format, to help her team reach 225 for 8 in 50 overs. However, the score proved to be inadequate as the Australians came up with a strong chase to reach home with nine wickets and as many overs to spare. Australia lead the three-game series 1-0.

However, it was a day of pride for Raj who has scored more than 7,000 runs in 218 ODIs so far and became the highest scorer in international cricket during India’s tour of England earlier this year. She is also the highest scorer in women’s international cricket across three formats of the game. She will be completing 20 years in international cricket next January.

Coming back to Monday’s game, Australia captain Meg Lanning won the toss and asked India to bat first. Opening pacer Darcie Brown picked four wickets for 33 runs to peg the Indians back after the visitors’ opening paid Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana gave them a brisk start by putting up 33 runs in less than four overs. Both were dismissed in quick succession, which put the pressure back on the Indian middle order. Raj added 77 runs with India’s No.3 Yastika Bhatia (35 off 51) but once that partnership was broken in the 26th over, India lost wickets regularly. Wicket-keeper-batswoman Richa Ghosh (24) and veteran Jhulan Goswami made 20 down the order to take India past 220 but it was not enough to challenge the Australians.

Raj’s half century, however, came at a strike rate of less than 59 and that could again raise talks over the senior batswoman slowing down. She was stumped by wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy off the bowling of Sophie Molineux.

Brown was adjudged the player of the match.

Raj, meanwhile, continued to hold on to the No.1 spot while New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite returned to the top five in the latest ICC women’s ODI rankings for batters released on Tuesday.

Raj, who has 762 rating points, retained her top spot and Mandhana was placed seventh.