Mithali Raj, the 38-year-old skipper of India’s 50-over team, made a record of her own when she flicked South African medium-pacer Anne Bosch through square leg for a boundary. Those runs, in her 212th ODI, took her past 10,000 runs in international cricket, the first Indian woman cricketer to achieve the mark. Mithali, who made her international debut in June 1999 against Ireland, picked consistency as the key to her longevity. Speaking at the post-match press conference after India lost to South Africa by six runs via the DL method, Mithali said, “When you play for so long obviously you go through different milestones, this being one of them. The key for me, I think, has been consistency. I’ve believed in scoring runs each time I walked out to bat.”
On her success mantra, the skipper added, “Whether it is domestic or international cricket it never mattered as long as I get an opportunity to bat. It is about making it count. Over the years, that has given me a lot of experience and exposure to work on my game. With the changing standard of women’s cricket, trying to be relevant on the international circuit is important.”
Stressing further on the need to stay relevant, Mithali, who has led India to two World Cup finals, said, “I think being relevant is about keeping with the times because women’s cricket has evolved over time. From scoring a (team) total of 150, today teams are scoring 250 and above (in ODIs). You need to tune your game accordingly.”
Although Mithali is not big on milestones, she hopes to tick a World Cup triumph off her bucket list in New Zealand in April next year.
