Mithali Raj



Mithali Raj is the captain of the Indian Women's cricket team and also one of the best players among other women cricketers.[1]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Early life and background  ==Early life and background[edit] == Mithali Raj was born on December 3, 1982 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Her father, Dorai Raj, was an officer in the Indian Air Force and her mother, Leela Raj. Mithali started to play the game at a tender age of 10 and at the age of 17, she was picked for the Indian team and her ODI debut was against Ireland at Milton Keynes in the year 1999. Leela Raj, turned homemaker to support Mithali's athletic interests in cricket. As a child, she was trained in Bharata Natyam, an Indian classical dance for eight years, and gave stage performances. She is employed with the Railways cricket team. ==Career[edit] == Mithali Raj is a Test and One Day International cricketer who represents India women's cricket team. She made her One Day International debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes and scored 114 runs without getting out in that match. She made her Test match debut in the 2001-02 season against England 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 by scoring a new high of 214 against England in the second and final Test atTaunton. The record has since been surpassed by Kiran Baluch of Pakistan who scored 242 against West Indies in March 2004. Mithali Raj has since grown into one of the legends of the game in women’s cricket and is currently the No 1 ODI batswoman in the world. Mithali has grasped every opportunity she has been presented with - and impressed. Coming to the wicket at times when batting is difficult, she has shown an ability to soldier on without being perturbed. A star in the one-dayers, Mithali was taken ill with a strain of typhoid in the CricInfo Women's World Cup in 2002, seriously hampering India's progress. However, she then led them to their first World Cup final in 2005, in South Africa, where they met Australia who proved just 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.
 * 2 Career
 * 3 Domestic career
 * 4 Cricket performance
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

She led the Indian team to the finals in the Women's Cricket World Cup of 2005 where the team lost to Australia. She is a part-time leg break bowler as well. She is a recipient of theArjuna award for the year 2003. She currently tops the batting table with 703 ratings points. Her composure when at the crease and ability to score briskly make her a dangerous customer. In addition to her ability with the bat, Mithali rolls her arm over bowling leg-spinners and providing variety to the attack.

At the 2013 Women's World Cup, Mithali started as the no.1 cricketer in the ODI chart among women. ==Domestic career[edit] == Playing for Railways in the domestic competition, Mithali began by playing with stars like Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra and Anju Jain for Air India. As of Now, though, she has emerged as one of India's most dependable bats, scoring heavily in both One-Dayers and Tests. ==Cricket performance[edit] ==
 * Mithali Raj held the record for the highest individual score by an Indian Woman Cricketer in a World Cup match (91 notout of 104 deliveries which included 9 fours) against NewZealand in Women's World Cup 2005.[2]  Harmanpreet Kaur overtook Mithali Raj by scoring a 107 from 109 balls in second match of ICC Women's World Cup 2013 against England