Double delight for Mithali Raj at Indian Sports Honours
The 34-year-old became the leading run-scorer in Women's cricket during the course of the year
What's the story?
It was a day of double delight for Indian Women's Cricket team skipper Mithali Raj at the inaugural Indian Sports Honours award night on Saturday, November 11, as the 34-year-old bagged the award for the SportsWoman of the Year as well as the prize for the Team of the Year.
As skipper of the Indian Women's team who made it to the final of the 2017 ICC World Cup where they suffered an agonising loss to hosts England in a closely fought contest, Mithali Raj had a day to remember and her fans were delighted to share the joy on Twitter with a tribute to the nation's most prolific run-getter in history.
In case you didn't know...
The Indian Sports Honours was launched jointly by Indian skipper Virat Kohli and business tycoon Sanjeev Goenka with the idea of honouring sportsmen and women who brought glory to the nation.
The jury for the inaugural edition was headed by badminton legend Pullela Gopichand and the awards ceremony on Saturday proved to be a star-studded affair led by Kohli and Anushka Sharma who were more than happy to get clicked together on what was indeed a special night.
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The heart of the matter
The night really belonged to the sports fraternity though and Mithali Raj certainly got her due for leading the Indian women's cricket team from the front.
She has been India's most consistent performer for a number of years and became the most prolific run-getter in women's cricket worldwide during the course of the year.
As someone who has always national pride over personal glory, Mithali Raj would have been more delighted with the way the Indian team performed at the 2017 World Cup, exceeding expectations and coming inches away from a maiden World Cup glory.
There was no disappointment though at the Indian Sports Honours award night as she bagged two of them.
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What's next?
Mithali and the Indian women's team have been out of action since their wonderful run at the 2017 World Cup.
They are set to take on South Africa next on an away tour where they will be hoping to carry forward the momentum generated from their World Cup exploits.
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Author's take
Mithali Raj is not only India's most famous women cricketer, but also someone who has inspired a number of women to take up the sport in the country battling all sorts of odds.
She has carved out a name for herself in Indian sports history and it is wonderful to see someone like her get rewarded for all the hard work that has been put in to reach the level where she is now.