“Queen of Cricket World” - Twitterati praises Mithali Raj as 38-year-old reclaims No.1 ODI ranking

India Women’s Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj on Tuesday reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the latest ICC Women’s ODI rankings. The 38-year-old jumped four places to occupy the top spot in the official ratings.

Although India Women lost the three-match ODI series 1-2 to England, Mithali Raj had a wonderful series, scoring half-centuries in all three matches. She hit 72 in the first one-dayer in Bristol, 59 in the second game in Taunton and a match-winning 75 not out in the final match in Worcester.

Tweeting their updated rankings, the ICC posted:

“@M_Raj03 is the new No.1. In the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for batting, the India skipper climbs to the top of the table.”

Mithali Raj had previously reached the top spot in the ICC Women’s ODI rankings in February 2018. The first time she climbed to the top of the charts was back in April 2005.

The Indian captain started trending on social media after it became known that she had become the No. 1 in ODIs again. Twitterati lavished praise on her. Some called her the ‘queen’ of cricket, while a few others used terms like ‘Mighty Mithali’ to describe her feat. Here are a few Twitter reactions on Mithali Raj’s achievement:

Indian Women's Cricket Team Captain Mithali Raj becomes the No. 1 Ranked Bat-Women in ICC Ranking. She is 38 years old and still performing so well. #MithaliRaj #ODIRanking #No1 #WomensCricket https://t.co/OB1ORjINFk

— Fantasy Prediction For Free (@dream11Don) July 6, 2021

Indian batters ruling in T20 and ODI rankings! @M_Raj03 back to where she belongs- an all time great 🐐 ! Congratulations legend #MithaliRaj 👏👏 @BCCIWomen #Legend

— Reema Malhotra (@ReemaMalhotra8) July 6, 2021

First time Mithali Raj became the number 1 was in April 2005. 16 years apart, she is back to number one now. #ENGvsIND #ENGvIND #MithaliRaj pic.twitter.com/JHTO6IdmWC

— Krithika (@krithika0808) July 6, 2021

Queen Of Cricket World 👑🤙@M_Raj03 #MithaliRaj https://t.co/Dgyp9kGDyz pic.twitter.com/r6vXM6qfMC

— 😈ಡಿ ಬಾಸ್😷 (@ShankarDBoss07) July 6, 2021

All hail Mithali Raj

— Sourav Jeet (@SouravJeet7) July 6, 2021

Mithali Raj becomes the number 1 ranked Bat-Women in ICC ranking - she is 38 years old and still going strong. Captain, Leader, Legend.

— THE REAL CRIC INFO (@RohanSatpati) July 6, 2021

Synonym of consistency: Mithali Raj 👌❤

— Pride(IND)🇮🇳🏳️‍🌈 (@Proud_gayboy) July 6, 2021

😎🏏 MIGHTY MITHALI! Congratulations to our skipper @M_Raj03 on reclaiming the No.1 spot in the ICC Women's ODI Batting Rankings for the eighth time ✨📷 Getty • #mithaliraj #womenscricket #iccrankings #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/XsyARnlLmH

— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) July 6, 2021

ICC ODI Rankings Our Queen 👑 @M_Raj03 at No. 1 position 🎉💃Q: How old are you?? A: It doesn't matter 😉#MithaliRaj pic.twitter.com/14MbpgZ6Ht

— Priya❤Addict (@impriyafan) July 6, 2021

Mithali Raj ~ NO.1 ODI Batter.Shafali Verma ~ NO.1 T20I Batter.One kills opponents with her techniques.Other just destroy them with her powers. pic.twitter.com/Gmnv5NsWhw

— Picasso (@6icasso) July 6, 2021

Another Day Another Milestone for Our Indian Women Team Skipper.Now She is a No 1 ODI RankerCongratulations @M_Raj03 🎊🎊🎊🎉🎉🥇 Bharat ki Beti Raaj karegi💪💪#MithaliRaj#BCCIWomens#TeamIndia

— Bhavesh Sharad Badgujar (@bhavesh_sb6) July 6, 2021

The picture speaks a thousand words! 😍Here’s to @M_Raj03 on claiming the No. 1️⃣ spot in the latest #ICCRankings for Women’s ODI batting. #MithaliRaj pic.twitter.com/YrBQAp0c9b

— SportsAdda (@sportsadda_) July 6, 2021

Number 1 Ranked Bat-Women in ODI - Mithali Raj.Number 1 Ranked Bat-Women in T20 - Shafali Verma.One is 38-year-old and the other is 17-year-old. Experience and youth is topping the ranking in Women's cricket.

— Tapan mahato (@Tapanmahato567) July 6, 2021

Congratulations Cricket Goddess 👏👏♥️♥️💙💙No.1️⃣ ODI ICC Ranking @M_Raj03 Didi 👏👏👏Kisi Ko batane ki jarurat nahin hai ki is 22 gaj ke pich pr kiska Raj hai, log to mere bat ki awaaz sunkar Bata dete Hain yahan to Mithali Raj ka Samrajy hai. Love you Goddess of Cricket ♥️💙 pic.twitter.com/iDMpKYO1wo

— Mithal Raj-03 Cool Captain💙💙♥️♥️ (@MithaliRaj_03) July 6, 2021

Congratulations @M_Raj03 di for your achievement of being most run scorer in women's internationals across formats and also congrats for no.1 rank. You are truly a legend of this era and inspiration for many. #MithaliRaj #Legend #ENGvIND

— Sachin Jyotiraditya (@SachinJyd99) July 6, 2021

late 30's is considered as end of many professional athletes but not Mithali Raj. She is now world #1 in ODI rankings.

— bramanandam (@tsknray) July 6, 2021

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I don’t seek validation from people: Mithali Raj

During her unbeaten 75 in the third ODI against England, Mithali Raj also became the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket, going past Charlotte Edwards' tally of 10,273 runs.

Although she was in good form, the 38-year-old faced some criticism over her strike rate. Reacting to the same, following India Women’s win in the final ODI, Mithali Raj said:

“I do read that the criticism is about my strike rate, but as I have said earlier also, I don’t seek validation from people. I’ve played for a long time, and I know that I have a certain responsibility in the team. I don’t look to please people.”

“I’m here to play the role that is assigned to me by the team management. When you’re chasing a target, you pick your bowlers, you pick your length, you pick the areas. Because I’m in a good flow, I need to make the best use of myself in the middle, and the entire batting unit revolves around me,” Mithali Raj added.

During the ODI series, Mithali Raj also completed 22 years in international cricket, the longest by any woman cricketer. In overall international cricket (men’s and women’s), only Sachin Tendulkar has had a longer international career than Mithali Raj.