Mithali, who has said goodbye to international cricket, is not only the highest run-scorer in the world, but also one of the pioneers of women’s cricket in the men’s dominated game. In a career spanning over two decades, she has emerged as a powerful voice for women’s cricket.
He has a career spanning 23 years. He has played 333 international matches and has 10,868 runs in his account. In men’s cricket, Sachin Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years, while in women’s cricket, Mithali also spent almost the same amount of time.
Like Tendulkar, Mithali also made her mark at the international level and took Indian cricket to new heights. Mithali’s father Durai Raj was working in the Air Force. Born in a Tamil family, Mithali started learning Bharatanatyam in the third grade. Going to Jones Cricket Academy in Secunderabad with her brother and father, Mithali used to do her homework near the boundary and if she wanted to, she used to play with her bat. The coach of the academy caught sight of him and Mithali, wearing a cricket pad, held a bat in her hand.
His mature technique, classic shots and amazing footwork are often talked about. In ‘Free Hit: The Story of Women’s Cricket in India’, author Suprita Das has told that Mithali, who reached the ground for practice at 5 in the morning, used to play cricket till 8 o’clock and go to school at 8:30. After school then rehearsing and hours of practice. His grades never dropped in school and no work remained unfinished. At that age, when fellow boys and girls were busy studying, partying, traveling, Mithali was sweating on the field. The memories of his childhood and boyhood include the memories of the field, the dust, the bat, the sweat and the 22-yard pitch.
It was because of the hard practice that there would hardly be any batting record which he did not touch. Mithali has many such records in women’s cricket, from a record 7,805 runs to seven consecutive half-centuries at an average of more than 50 runs in ODI cricket. It also becomes special because she made her debut in women’s cricket when it was considered ridiculous for a girl to play cricket in this country crazy about men’s cricket.
Mithali has lived the experience from second class railway to business class in an aeroplane and it was her zeal that she waited and persevered for the situation to change. Then BCCI took women’s cricket under its umbrella in 2006, but got central contracts in 2016. Under Mithali’s captaincy, the Indian team reached the 2017 World Cup final, but lost to England by nine runs at Lord’s and Mithali’s desire to win the World Cup remained unfulfilled.