Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur bring up a unique partnership milestone
Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur stitched together a 71-run partnership against South Africa Women on Wednesday. With this, the duo registered their 14th 50+ partnership in ODIs, becoming the pair to record the highest such stands for India Women.
Their partnership during the final India Women vs South Africa Women ODI came to an end only after Harmanpreet Kaur walked off the field retired hurt following the end of the 31st over.
The landmark stand between Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur makes them the most successful pair for India Women when it comes to 50+ run stands. The earlier record was held by Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra, who had 13 half-century stands to their name.
Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur achieved the feat in just 45 innings. In comparison, Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra had taken 57 innings for their 13 50+ stands.
The trio is the top three run-getters for India Women in ODIs. Mithali Raj is at the top of the pile with 7,098 runs in 214 games. Anjum Chopra is second in line, with 2,856 runs in 127 matches. Rounding out the top three is 32-year-old Harmanpreet Kaur, who has scored 2,532 runs in 104 ODIs for India Women.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj are the two senior players in India Women’s ODI setup. They will be expected to put together many more partnerships in the near future, particularly with the 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup on the horizon.
Mithali Raj dominates 50+ partnerships list
It is a testament to Mithali’s Raj consistency, longevity and class that the ODI skipper is part of the four most successful 50+ partnerships for India Women.
Apart from the aforementioned Raj-Harmanpreet and Raj-Chopra combos, the 38-year-old has also built successful partnerships with Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana.
Mithali Raj has 12 fifty-plus stands with Punam Raut in 33 games, while she has gone past 50 with Smriti Mandhana 11 times in 23 ODI matches.