SK Flashback: Mithali Raj's hundred on One Day International debut

26^th June 1999: A bright sunny day greeted the two sides, India and Ireland in the one-off One-Day International match at Milton Keynes in England. Away from all the attention and the glaring eyes of the media, the teams went through their pre-match preparations to get themselves game ready for this crucial encounter.

It was testing times for women's cricket as they lacked support from the crowd as well as the officials at the international arena. However, that did not deter the excitement of a teenager who was picked in the Indian squad for the first time. Little did she know, in about a couple of minutes, she would be donning the India colours and walking out to bat for the country.

24^th June 2017: The County Ground in Derby was all set for a classic showdown between two world-class outfits as the host team locked horns with India. The event could not get any bigger as this epic clash was also the inaugural match of the eleventh edition of the ICC Women's World Cup.

Reliving the wonderful memories of this beautiful country and with a spring in her stride, out she walked to the field, albeit this time around as the captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team.

The journey between these two events sums up the life of arguably the greatest Indian women cricketer of all time, Mithali Raj. Exactly 18 years ago to this day marked the beginning of a glorious era in the history of women’s cricket.

Early days

While most of the girls at the tender age of 10 were busy playing with dolls, the scenario was a little different in the Raj household. Dorai Raj, an officer in the Indian Air Force and a strict disciplinarian, did not want his child to become lazy and enrolled her for a cricket coaching camp.

And well, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Within six years of professional guidance and hours of gruesome practice sessions in the scorching heat, arrived the most awaited day for the family as 16-year-old Mithali earned her place on a flight to England for the first time as the member of the Indian women’s cricket team.

The dream debut

26^th June 1999 will be etched in her memory forever as this day marked the beginning of an illustrious future in store for the Indian team. On a beautiful morning in Campbell Park in Milton Keynes, the Ireland skipper won the toss and elected to field first.

With determination in her eyes and sheer grit to perform for the nation, Mithali walked in to take centre stage. A few solid defence and some textbook drives later, the nerves began to calm down.

And what followed next was a pure exhibition of high-quality batting from a teenager who crafted her way into the records books by becoming the youngest player to score a century on debut. An unbeaten knock of 114 runs at the top of the order propelled the Indian team to a comprehensive 161 run victory over their counterparts

A historic day for Indian cricket

Mithali Raj in action during her milestone knock in Taunton

Just as she was making her mark in the international arena, she rocked the world cricket with yet another milestone. In the second and the final Test match against the hosts, England at Taunton, history books were rewritten as Mithali took the cricketing nations in absolute awe as she scripted one of the most memorable innings in women’s cricket by notching up an unbeaten 214 runs.

There was hardly any doubt about the ability of this young player, ever since her debut game. And with this record-breaking knock at the County Ground in Taunton, she showcased glimpses of the great things to follow for Indian cricket.

Living legend of the game

With over 5,500 runs in the international circuit she has been an epitome of calmness who has time and again exuberated class. Her eyes full of determination with the trademark floppy hat, many records kept tumbling as her career progressed.

The opening match of the Women's World Cup witnessed yet another masterclass from the superwoman of Indian cricket as she registered a world record by scoring her seventh consecutive half century.

Despite all the batting credentials, the prestigious World Cup title has eluded this living legend of the game. With a possibility of this mega event being her last appearance at the world stage, there is no better way to end a wonderful career with the coveted trophy. And looking at the performance of the team in the opening encounter, the dream of holding the World Cup title at the Mecca of Cricket does not seem to be distant anymore for millions of fans all over the world.