Mithali Raj, the Indian captain, made history on Saturday when she broke the record for most matches captained in the ICC Women’s World Cup. Raj had now eclipsed former Australian captain Belinda Clark’s record of leading her side in 23 matches. Mithali (39) has led her country to 14 triumphs, eight losses, and one no result in 24 World Cup games. Clark led her team in 23 games as captain.
When Raj took the field to lead India against the West Indies in a vital match during the ongoing showpiece event, she accomplished the feat. She joined the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistani legend Javed Miandad in becoming only the third cricketer; and the first woman to appear in six World Cups.
The first woman to appear in six World Cups
At Seddon Park in Hamilton, India chose to bat first against the West Indies. The Indian team scored 317 runs. India’s innings featured hundreds from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur. Mandhana was eventually dismissed for 123 runs, while Kaur amassed 109. For the fourth wicket, the two put on a 184-run partnership. Currently, a mixed tournament is taking place. They’ve played two games, one of which was a defeat and the other was a victory. In their first match of the tournament, India defeated Pakistan but fell to New Zealand in the second.
In the ICC Women’s World Cup’s second league stage encounter in Hamilton on Thursday, the Mithali Raj-led team was defeated by 62 runs. New Zealand, who have dominated India all summer, continued their dominance by amassing a solid 260 for 9 in the first innings. The ‘Women in Blue’ were then strangled out for 198 in 46.4 overs.