Mithali Raj Becomes First Indian Woman Player to Score 10k Runs in International Cricket

Cricket is one of the most loved games in the world, especially in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan where it is followed religiously.

Mithali Raj became the first Indian to score 10,000 runs in women's international cricket on Friday. She hit the milestone while batting against South Africa in the third one day international (ODI) of the current series between the two nations as she racked up 36 runs. 

Mithali, 38, is also the captain of India's ODI team. She is the second female player in the world to clock 10,000 runs, after England's Charlotte Edwards. 

Edwards, who retired in 2016, scored 10,273 runs in international cricket during her 20-year career across all three formats of the game – ODI, Test, and Twenty20. 

Meanwhile, Mithali – who made her international debut in June 1999 – has so far played 10 tests, 212 ODIs, and 89 T20Is. She has scored 6,974 ODI runs at an average of 50.53, and 663 runs in Test cricket at an average of 51.00, and 2,364 T20 international runs at an average of 37.52.

Following her feat, several prominent cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) congratulated Mithali.

What a champion cricketer! 👏👏

First Indian woman batter to score 10K international runs. 🔝 👍

Take a bow, @M_Raj03! 🙌🙌@Paytm #INDWvSAW #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/6qWvYOY9gC

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) March 12, 2021

Heartiest congratulations Mithali on completing 1️⃣0️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ runs in International Cricket.

Terrific achievement... 👏🏻
Keep going strong! 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/1D2ybiVaUt

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 12, 2021

Congratulations to @M_Raj03 for completing 10,000 runs in international women's cricket 👏

She is the first Indian to cross this milestone! 🇮🇳🙌#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDWvSAW @ICC pic.twitter.com/lwVZSgv2Uo

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 12, 2021