#OnThisDay: India's Mithali Raj created THIS World Record 23 years ago

In her long distinguished career, Mithali Raj smashed a plethora of records that stood the test of time as she established herself as a certified run machine of the game. The glimpses of her genius was seen very early and on this day 23 years ago, Mithali shred open the record books in stunning fashion at the tender age of 19.

 

In just her third Test match, Mithali smashed 214 against England at Taunton, setting a new record in women's Test cricket for the highest individual score. The previous best, 209* by Karen Rolton, had only been set 13 months ago in July 2001 and Mithali overtook the Aussie veteran to top the charts of an elite club. Mithali showed impeccable powers of concentration, batting close to ten hours and facing more than 400 deliveries during her marathon knock. While the surface was reasonably good for batting, her knock was the only three-figure innings from either side in a drawn game.

 

Mithali's stellar effort ensured that India were able to gain a strong first innings lead of 138. There was solid support from skipper Anjum Chopra who made a dogged 52 while Hemlata Kala also weighed in with a nuggety innings of 62. The surprise, however, came lower down the order when Jhulan Goswami produced a stunning fifty, her first-ever international half-century. With a solid first innings lead, India tried to force a result but England's batters stood their ground and batted out 81 overs to save the game. Charlotte Edwards with a strokeful fifty was the top-scorer but all the middle order batters did the required job of eating into the overs left in the game.

 

The result was a hard-fought draw for England but the match will be remembered for Mithali's claim to fame. Her record, much like Rolton's, was shortlived as Pakistan's Kiran Baluch broke it in March 2004 but for the Hyderbad batter, it was a significant step from Mithali in pursuit of greatness.

 

 

Sports