Mithali Raj, India women’s team captain on Sunday achieved a massive milestone during the Women’s World Cup match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
As Team India took the field for their tournament opener against Pakistan at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Mithali Raj became the first women’s cricketer to feature in six ODI World Cups. The veteran batter had made her World Cup debut in 2000, before also featuring in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, and now in 2022.
Mithali Raj Becomes The 2nd Cricketer After Sachin Tendulkar And Javed Miandad To Pay 6 ODI World Cups
Mithali Raj surpassed former New Zealand cricketer Debbie Hockley and England’s Charlotte Edwards. She is only the second India cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to have played in 6 ODI World Cups. The former India cricketer had featured in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011 men’s ODI World Cup.
Overall, Mithali Raj is the third cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan’s Javed Miandad to have played in 6 ODI World Cups.
Indian Women Beats Pakistan Women In Their 1st ODI World Cup Match
Meanwhile, India won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan in their first Women’s World Cup 2022 match.
“We’ll bat. It’s a good wicket to bat. put up a big total and put pressure on them. We’re going with three seamers and three spinners. We want to go into the tournament with a clean slate, take some momentum from the last game which we won against New Zealand. The hunger to do well in WCs has kept me going,” Mithali Raj said at the toss.
India, however, did not have the best of starts as Shafali Verma was castled for a 6-ball duck by Diana Baig. India won their opening encounter of the 2022 Women’s World Cup against Pakistan by 107 runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui to start the tournament with a bang.
Indin women batters recovered well to post 244/7 in 50 overs. Smriti Mandhana, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar scored half-centuries each to propel the innings total past the 240-run mark.
Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar added 100 runs for the seventh wicket as Indian women scored freely towards the end of the innings despite losing wickets regularly. Defending the 245-run target, the Indian bowlers kept a tight line and length throughout their run-chase to keep a lid on the scoring rate.
Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana’s record rearguard 122-run stand, Smriti Mandhana’s 52, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s 4 for 31 led India to a 107-run victory against Pakistan in what was the opening World Cup game for both teams. The two all-rounders rescued India from 114 for 6 after a collapse of 5 wickets for 18 runs.
India 244 for 7 (Vastrakar 67, Rana 53*, Mandhana 52, Sandhu 2-36) beat Pakistan 137 (Sidra 30, Gayakwad 4-31) by 107 runs