Mithali Raj played a pivotal knock for India against New Zealand in a virtual quarterfinal. (Source: Reuters)
As India go for their first ever ICC Women’s World Cup title when they take on England in the final on Sunday, Mithali Raj would be leading the ladies in blue and hoping to turn things around from the disappointment from 2005. India have reached the final of Women’s World Cups only once – in 2005 – but there they came second best to Australia. This time Mithali wishes to go all the way after getting the better of the mighty Australia in the semi-finals. In their path now stand hosts England.
Mithali has had a great tournament in England where she scored 109 runs against New Zealand in a crucial virtual quarterfinal. Then she also became the highest scorer in ODI cricket while going past past 6,000 runs. Having made her debut in 1999, Mithali has been the cornerstone of the Indian women’s cricket and she considered quitting in 2009. But overturned her decision seeing the rise of women’s cricket following the World Cup then in Australia.
“When you have a long career, there are usually times where a player might not be inspired also. For me at least, there were phases where I didn’t feel like playing cricket anymore. I thought I would give it a shot up until 2009 World Cup and then quit after that. But when I realised that 2009 was the time when people started to watch women’s cricket because it was the first World Cup which was televised. It generated a lot of awareness among people. So I thought if I have already sacrificed so much to come so far, I should push a little more. And I’ve pushed so far,” she said in an interview to ESPNCricinfo.
She further shared what keeps her going and staying motivated despite a lengthy career. “I guess what motivates me is my parents’ struggle in the early stages. They had to endure a lot of negativity from immediate family members say my grandparents or aunts. When I think about giving up, I always remember the sacrifices they made and it inspires and motivates me to keep performing,” she added.
