In the 10th match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup that was played on March 12, India beat West Indies by a massive margin of 155 runs. The win was not only special for team India but also for their captain Mithali Raj.
Just a couple of days back, Raj led India in her 150th ODI and on Saturday, she achieved yet another milestone. Leading team India against West Indies during the World Cup, she became the Indian player with most matches as captain in ODI World Cups, surpassing Mohammed Azharuddin’s tally of 23. To date, Raj has led team India in 24 World Cup matches, which is the highest across men’s and women’s cricket in India. The Indian women’s cricket team captain has also gone past Australia’s Belinda Clark, who has captained in 23 matches across ODI World Cups. Raj is now the only player across men’s and women’s ODI cricket to have captained an international team in 24 or more ODI World Cup matches. The 39-year old enjoys a good success rate in World Cup matches as she has won 15 out of her 24 matches and lost eight. Her win percentage is a healthy 65.21 in ODI World Cups.
The day was really special for Indian cricket as they not only beat West Indies by a huge margin of 155 runs but also shattered many records in the process. Early in the day, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur stitched a 184-run partnership for the fourth wicket to power India past the 300-run mark. It was for the first time India went past 300 runs in a Women’s World Cup match and this happened under the able leadership of captain Mithali Raj. The 184-run partnership between Mandhana and Kaur was also the highest fourth-wicket partnership for India against any team in women’s ODI cricket. It was also their highest partnership for any wicket against the West Indies. Moreover, this match-winning partnership was the highest partnership for any wicket and any team in the Women’s Cricket World Cups. Apart from this, India’s veteran fast bowler, Jhulan Goswami became the leading wicket-taker in Women’s World Cups with 40 wickets to her name.
March 12, 2022 will indeed be a special day in Indian women’s cricket not only for the individual milestones that the players achieved through the day but also for a complete and comprehensive team performance.
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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.