OTD | Ninteen-year-old Mithali Raj made the highest score in a women’s Test match in 2002

Mithali Raj was nothing short of an asset for the Indian women’s team, who changed the team’s shape in many ways. She’s the former captain of the team and has many accolades under her name. She’s one of the best players in cricket who knows how to bat fearlessly. Moreover, Mithali has received several national and international awards, including the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, the Arjuna Award in 2003, the Padma Shri in 2015, and in 2021, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

She’s the only female cricketer to score more than 7000 runs in ODIs and the first player to score seven consecutive 50s in ODIs. She is also the record holder for the most WODI half-centuries. Among the several records she holds, one of them is being India’s captain for a long time. Moreover, she’s the only captain who has captained the team in more than one ICC ODI World Cup final, doing so in 2005 and 2017. 

Shemade her test debut in 2002 against England, and at the age of 19, she scored the highest in a women’s test match. She announced her arrival with a double century against England in their backyard. That was the most beautiful thing about her career. On 17 August 2002, Mithali Raj, at the age of 19, broke the world record of Karen Rolton’s highest individual test score of 209* in her third test. She scored a new high of 214 against England in the second and final test at County Ground, Taunton, UK. However, the record didn’t stay for a long time as it was surpassed by Kiran Baluch of Pakistan, who scored 242 against the West Indies in March 2004.

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