Mithali Raj: Epitome of consistency

Just like the Indian men’s team got their prodigy in 1989 in form of Sachin Tendulkar, women’s cricket got its own in 1999. Her strokeplay was elegant, her shots were crisp and she dominated bowlers with her solid technique. Mithali Raj was the name who debuted in 1999 against Ireland and evolved into one of the batting maestros in World Cricket. The veteran batted at various positions for the team and also captained them. Mithali has bid farewell to international cricket almost 23 years later and will be known as one of the greatest women’s cricketers to walk on the face of the earth.

Speaking about her ODI records, Mithali is the most capped player(232) in ODIs along with being the highest run-getter. Also, she is the only female player to play in six ODI World Cups. The veteran batter enjoyed the longest career in women’s cricket and achieved several feats. 

Along with being a top-notch batter, Mithali was also an excellent leader, She led the national team in 155 matches winning 89 out of them which is most by any player in ODIs. She also has a record of playing most matches as captain in women’s cricket. She has skippered India in 28 World Cup matches which is the highest count. Mithali has also led the team to two World Cup finals but the team lost the game on each occasion. The most historical moment for Mithali as a captain was when she led the national team to their first Test series win in England. 

Mithali enjoyed a successful career but she was often criticized for her slow strike rate in the lateral stages. It was often said that her strike rate was restricting the team from posting big totals but the veteran batter felt that she was unfairly targeted and too much importance was given to strike rate. 

Even at the back end of her career, Mithali was scoring runs with consistency when she faced a lot of flak for playing with a slow strike rate. She scored 503 runs from 10 innings in 2021 at 62.87 and scored 414 runs from 12 innings at 41.40 this year. Mithali was the run-scoring machine in the earlier part of her career but in the last couple of years, her experience became more crucial to the team, It is often overlooked that she was playing an anchor role for the team which allowed others to play freely. She used to assure the fans that the innings will not collapse as long as she is on the crease. Her greatness didn’t lie in her aggression but the ability to play according to the match situation was of top quality. 

A recipient of the Arjuna Award, Padma Shri awardee, and winner of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award in 2021, Mithali Raj has been one of the mainstays of the Indian women's team. With her retirement, she has left a huge void and it will be a difficult task for selectors who find a middle-order batter as solid and as elegant as Mithali in the near future.