Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj added another record to an already glittering career, becoming the first ever woman cricketer to play 200 ODIs. Mithali attained the milestone as she led her team out for the third one-day international against New Zealand on Friday.
Since her ODI debut on 25 June, 1999, Indian women have played 213 matches in the 50-overs format; the 36-year-old has featured in all but 13 of them.
Mithali is only behind veteran cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Javed Miandad when it comes to international career. Her international career that has lasted for 19 years and 219 days – and counting has brought her 6613 runs, which include seven tons and an 52 fifties, the most recent of which she attained in the second ODI against New Zealand.
The Indian women's team was at the centre of a huge controversy after its semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. Mithali Raj had accused former coach Ramesh Powar of being biases and CoA member Diana Edulji of trying to finish her career.
The Indian ODI skipper had recently given a major clarification on her dispute with former coach Ramesh Powar and CoA member Diana Edulji ahead of the New Zealand series. She stated that whatever happened was past and cricket has helped her deal with the adversities of life.