Skipper Mithali Raj proud to wear India colours for so long; New Zealand defeats India to avoid series sweep
Skipper Mithali Raj
Back in 1999, 16-year old schoolgirl, Mithali Raj was simply happy wearing the India colours for the first time and not much has changed even after two decades as the coveted milestone of 200 ODIs, "is just a number" for the legend.
Mithali, 36, made her ODI debut against England in Milton Keynes in January 1999 and yesterday became the first woman to compete in 200 matches in the 50-over format. She is the top run-getter in the world with 6,622 runs.
"200 is just a number for me but it feels nice to come so far," unassuming India's ODI captain said after completing a maiden 2-1 series win on New Zealand soil.
Having already sealed the series, Team India put up an ordinary effort with the bat to go down by eight wickets against New Zealand in the third and final ODI here yesterday.
The Women in Blue could muster only 149 after being put in to bat. The White Ferns chased down the target in 29.2 overs to register a morale-boosting win.
"I have seen different stages of [transformation] in women's cricket across the globe since I made by debut way back in 1999 under IWCC [International Women's Cricket Council]. Coming under ICC, we could see the difference. I am just happy to represent the country for so long," she said.
For Mithali, it is a surreal feeling to continue for so long at the top level. "When I started, I didn't think that I would come so far. Initially, my aim was to only wear India colours, be one of the core members of the team but never did I think that I will continue to play for so long," said Mithali as one could gauge the sense of satisfaction in her voice.
Mithali has had her share of ups and downs including the very recent public difference of opinion with CoA member Diana Edulji, whom she alleged was trying to finish her career along with former coach Ramesh Powar.
"When you have a long career, you have different elements and reasoning that comes into play. But one thing has been to constantly thrive and change my game to suit different conditions.
"I have seen joys, highs and lows - when you have a long career," she said, expressing her gratitude to everyone, "who has made a difference" in her career.
Brief scores
India 149 in 44 overs (D Sharma 52, H Kaur 24; A Peterson 4-28, L Tahuhu 3-26) lost to NZ 153-2 in 29.2 overs (A Satterthwaite 66', S Bates 57;
P Yadav 1-31) by
8 wickets
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