The Royal London Series which consisted of three ODI’s played against the home favourites England Women saw the Indian captain Mithali Raj lead from the front
Mithali scored a half-century in each match. Let’s dig deep to know Cricketer Mithali Raj’s impressive results in England.
Mithali Raj’s innings throughout the series can be seen as a saviour, as wickets were falling from the other side and she steered Team India to a reasonable score. Despite skipper Mithali Raj’s consistent performance in the series, India lost the series 1-2 to host England, probably the better side.
Performances of Mithali Raj in the England Women vs India Women ODI Series
1st ODI – Bristol, 27 June: Mithali scored 72 (off 108) in this match where England had won the toss and decided to bowl. India batting first put a low score of 201/8 on board, as the batting lineup collapsed. Mithali Raj’s knock of 72 was the highest among the Indian batters, her innings made it possible to put this total.
ENG W won this match by 8 wickets as their middle order made the chasing look easy.
2nd ODI – Taunton, 30 June: The Captain scored 59 (off 92), her second half-century of the series. Again England won the toss and they put India to bat first. This time India put 221 on the scoreboard. The opening partnership did well but again India lost wickets quickly in middle. Mithali Raj took the charge and helped India post this total.
ENG W won by 5 wickets as Sophia Dunkley’s unbeaten 73 helped England win this match and series.
3rd ODI – Worcester, 3 July: Mithali Raj’s 75 not out (off 86) helped India win this match, as this time around India won the toss and decided to bowl. With the help of India’s bowling unit effort, Team England was restricted to 219. Apart from Smriti Mandhana’s 49 (off 57) and Mithali Raj’s knock, the middle order of India was not in a great form.
IND W won by 4 wickets. This was a consolation win for the Indian Women Team. Mithali was named the Player of the Match for her match-winning knock.
Mithali Raj’s – Batting Style and Record Made in the ODI Series
The Indian Captain Mithali Raj is known to start slow but plays big knocks later and that way catches up to the SR (strike rate). She is described as an orthodox batter i.e. playing traditional cricketing shots. Mithali Raj plays the role of an anchor as she certainly has the skill, talent, and ability to bat for a long time.
What an achievement!@M_Raj03 🌟 pic.twitter.com/XXqOA9rhVG
— ICC (@ICC) July 4, 2021
During India’s innings in the 3rd ODI in Worcester, Mithali Raj surpassed Charlotte Edwards as the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket across all 3 formats.
And after the ODI Series was concluded, ICC released its Women’s ODI Player Rankings where Mithali Raj reclaimed the top spot as she became No.1. This came after her excellent performance in the ODI series against England where she made 206 runs in three games. She is back at being No. 1 for the eighth time in her 22-year-long career.
Mithali Raj Past Performances and stats in England
Mithali Raj made her ODI debut for India against Ireland on June 26, 1999, at Milton Keynes in England. The then 16-year-old scored unbeaten 114 runs. By doing so she became the youngest centurion in ODIs (16 years 205 days) and still holds the record.
🏏 214 runs
🏏 407 balls#OnThisDay in 2002, a 19-year-old Mithali Raj registered the highest individual score in women's Tests at the time 👏While the record was later broken by 🇵🇰's Kiran Baluch, @M_Raj03 remains India's only double centurion in international cricket 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yVKkLfLWJh
— ICC (@ICC) August 17, 2020
On 17 August 2002, Mithali Raj made history when she scored 214 (off 407) against England in the 2nd test match at County Ground, Taunton. She was then 19-year-old and was playing her third test match. The record-breaking score of 214, a then-highest Test score. It is still the second-highest. With the help of Mithali’s heroic the match ended in a draw. With this, she is the first and only Indian woman to score a double century.
As Captain, she has memorable wins in 2006 and 2014 against England at their home.
In 2006, India won the 2nd Test by 5 wickets against England in Taunton from Aug 29 – Sep 1 2006. With first test match in the series ended in a draw. The India Women won the 2-match series 1-0, their first-ever Test and Series victory in England which was led by Mithali. Mithali Raj scored the most runs for India in the series – 134.
In 2014, India played an Only Test against England at Wormsley from Aug 13 – 16 2014. Which India Women won by 6 wickets. Mithali Raj guided her team to another historic win by scoring an unbeaten 50 (off 157) in the 2nd innings for India.
In England, Captain Mithali Raj has reached many milestones and has achieved remarkable success
After the 3rd ODI Win, Mithali Raj spoke to the press.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing against England in England. They say English conditions are difficult but I’ve scored bulk of my runs on this soil. I’ve come here off bad form and found my rhythm here. I was here in ’99 and it’s come full circle. I hope my form continues in the series to come as well.”
Mithali Raj holds numerous records to her name in her long, illustrious career.