Mithali Raj’s long and illustrious career spanning over 21 years is unequivocally a hallmark in women’s cricket. The elegant batter made her debut in 1999 and has been going strong since then. She has created a strong legacy and in the truest of sense is one of the best global ambassadors of women’s cricket.
Here’s a look at Mithali Raj’s journey through the last 21 years.
| Year | Achievement |
| 1999 | Debut, Youngest centurion in ODI cricket (16 years 205 days) |
| 2000 | Played match-winning innings of 69 not out against South Africa in India’s opening game at the World Cup |
| 2001 | Opened the batting in the second innings of the Test against South Africa, which India won |
| 2002 | Career-best Test score of 214 against England in England. Broke Karen Rolton’s record of the world’s highest individual Test score of 209 |
| 2003 | Arjuna award winner |
| 2004 | Became the captain of India |
| 2005 | Captained India to the World Cup final in 2005 held in South Africa |
| 2006 | Scored most runs of her career in the year 2006. She played 23 matches that year and amassed 684 runs at 45.60. |
| 2007 | Led India to the final of Quadrangular series that included England, New Zealand, and Australia |
| 2008 | Led India to its fourth Asia Cup win |
| 2009 | India’s leading run-scorer during the World Cup, accruing 247 runs. She was also included in the team of the tournament |
| 2010 | Scored four half-centuries in four innings against England in a 5-match ODI series. DNB in the third ODI. |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | On a ground (Cuttack) where no team in the competition (World Cup) had chased more than 105, her hundred dominated the chase of a tricky 193, sealing a six-wicket win against Pakistan. |
| 2014 | Captained India to a 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka |
| 2015 | Padma Shri award winner. Became the first female cricketer to win the Wisden India Cricketer of the Year. |
| 2016 | Led India to ODI series against Australia in February |
| 2017 | Captained India to the World Cup final, Youth Sports Icon of Excellence Award, Vogue Sportsperson of the Year, BBC 100Women list 2017 |
| 2018 | Became the first Indian cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20 International Cricket |
| 2019 | Retired from T20I cricket. Became the first woman to play in 200 ODI matches. |
| 2020 | Nominated for the ICC player of the decade award. |
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
