'Winning World Cup will be a truly special milestone' - Mithali Raj on 10,000 international runs
Indian Women’s ODI captain Mithali Raj has underplayed the milestone of becoming the first female Indian cricketer to cross 10,000 runs in international cricket.
The 38-year-old emphasized that, for her, all that mattered was scoring runs and being consistent. She added that winning a World Cup would be something she would consider an exceptional milestone.
Mithali Raj scored 36 from 50 balls during the third ODI against South Africa on Friday. However, an unbeaten century from Lizelle Lee saw South Africa Women clinch the match by six runs (D/L method). With the win, they took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
At a virtual press conference after the match, Mithali Raj underplayed her achievement and said:
"When you play for this long, you go through different milestones. This being one of it, the key for me has always been consistency and I have always believed in scoring runs each time I go out to bat, whether it is domestic or international cricket.”
"As long as I get an opportunity to bat, it has to be counted and that has given me a lot of experience and exposure to work on my game over the years with the changing standards in the women's game and trying to be relevant in the international circuit," she further added.
“I have not really given much of a thought to any of the milestones. One milestone which will truly stand out is if we go on to win the World Cup, that will always be very very special," she revealed.
Explaining how women’s cricket has evolved over the years, the Indian ODI captain pointed to the rise in team totals. Mithali Raj elaborated:
"I think being relevant is going with the times, women's cricket has evolved over the years. Scoring from a total of 150 to today it is 250. Teams are scoring 250 and about, you need to tune your game accordingly.”
Mithali Raj only second player to complete 10,000 international runs in women's cricket
With her massive feat on Tuesday, Mithali Raj became only the second cricketer to cross 10,000 runs in women’s international cricket. Former England skipper Charlotte Edwards was the first woman to do so. She has amassed 10,273 runs in international cricket.
Following her knock in Lucknow on Friday, Mithali Raj now has 10,001 runs to her name in 311 matches for India Women. In 212 ODIs, she has amassed 6974 runs at an average of 50.53.
The veteran cricketer also has 663 runs in 10 Tests and 2364 in 89 T20Is. She retired from T20Is back in 2019. Overall, Mithali Raj has eight centuries and 75 fifties to her credit in international women's cricket.