9 Things to Know About Mithali Raj - 2nd Woman Cricketer in the World with 5000 ODI Runs

Mithali Raj has authored a new chapter in the history Indian women's cricket by becoming the 2nd woman cricketer in the world to score 5000 runs in one day international cricket.

It was with great delight and fervour that India welcomed the news of Mithali Raj becoming the second woman in the world to have scored 5000 runs in ODI cricket. She reached the record after her unbeaten 81 runs in the match against New Zealand where India was chasing a target of 220 runs. India also won the match by 8 wickets.

While we celebrate the record and the win with some weird happy dancing, let us get to know more about the Indian woman cricketer, Mithali Raj.

1. Mithali Dorai Raj is the captain of the Indian Women's cricket team.

Source: BCCI

2. She received the Arjuna Award in 2003 and the Padma Shri in 2015.

Source: saddahaq

3. She was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in 1982 and currently lives in Hyderabad.

Source: espn.cricinfo

4.  Mithali began by playing for Air India with prominent names like Purnima Rau and Anjum Chopra, and later on, for the Railways team.

Source: cricketcountry

5.  She has played 157 ODI matches for India with the record making total ODI score of 5029. With an average score of 48.8, she has 5 centuries and 37 half centuries in her name.

6.  She first entered international cricket at the age of 17.

7. She also held the record for the highest test score of 214 runs, in a women's cricket match.

8. Mithali was the number one in the charts of Women's Cricket World Cup in 2013.

9. She is also the first female cricketer to win the Wisden India Cricketers of the Year recognition. She received it in April 2015.

Unless stated otherwise, the images are from Mithali Raj's Facebook profile.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us:[email protected], or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).