India vs England: Unparalleled Mithali Raj emerges through criticism with match-winning innings in 3rd ODI

Controversies and criticism have closely followed the great Mithali Raj over the course of the last few years. In 2018, she fell out with head coach Ramesh Powar who had accused her of pressuring coaches and putting her interests ahead of the team’s. Earlier this year, when outgoing coach WV Raman  alleged “prima donna” culture in the Indian women’s cricket team, it was believed he was trying to point fingers at Raj among others. In the ODI series against England, she was constantly under scrutiny for her low strike-rate with social media littered with posts advising her to hang her boots. Only the insiders know the truth, however, some would say there is no smoke without any fire. Having said that, Raj, the batter remains unparalleled in world cricket and unchallenged in Indian cricket. [caption id=“attachment_9778041” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Even after 22 years in international cricket, Mithali Raj remains India’s most dependable batter. AP[/caption] And it was proven once again on Saturday when the batting great, brushing aside the concerns over her strike-rate, paced her innings of 75 not out to perfection to help India clinch their first win on the tour of England. Raj is now also the highest run-getter in women’s cricket with a combined tally of 10,337. With the victory in the third ODI, India have reduced the multi-format series point deficit to 6-4. Raj walked in to bat at 66/2 with India chasing 220 for a win and soon saw Smriti Mandhana depart. At that stage, India still needed 139 from 26.1 overs, a big ask on the slow and sluggish Worcester track. The out-of-form Indian batters only made the chase even harder. But Raj was not going to be unsettled, no matter how big the challenge. She put up a 50-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur, then 33 with Deepti Sharma and 50 again with Sneh Rana to steer India across the finishing line. She scored her first 25 runs in 46 deliveries. She was circumspect with India losing Rodrigues and Mandhana in quick succession. Her next 25 runs came in 22 deliveries as she got a hang of the conditions and found stability with Harmanpreet and Deepti at the other end. The last 25 runs came off just 18 deliveries with the 38-year-old finishing the task as Rana (24 off 22) chipped in with the required impetus towards the end. Despite scoring two back-to-back fifties in the first two ODIs, Raj was facing criticism for batting slow and putting her partners under undue pressure. But what Raj showed on Saturday and over the ODI series is that she remains invaluable to the team. She provides stability to India’s brittle batting order. Her match-winning innings was the perfect example of how she can pick up pace as an innings progresses. Her use of experience and guidance to Rana during the tense chase was critical to India’s win. Most importantly, she provides valuable runs when most are failing to do. Mithali Raj is 38 and may not have a lot of international cricket left in her, but the match-winning innings at Worcester against England was another reminder that India are far from ready for life without her in the ODIs. Batting concerns While Raj continues to lead India’s batting, she would appreciate more support from her teammates, especially the middle-order. The form of Harmanpreet is of major concern. The swashbuckling right-hander has only scored two fifties in her 23 innings since the 2017 World Cup. In these 23 innings she has only managed 543 runs at an average of 28.57. Her career average is 34.70. Another perturbing fact is the dwindling fortunes of Jemimah Rodrigues. Blessed with talent, the Mumbai cricketer has recently struggled to translate it into runs. She has failed to get into the double digits in her last five innings and after 21 innings in her brief career, she has just 394 runs to her name at an average of 19.70. Not what you expect from a top-order batter. [caption id=“attachment_9778061” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Sneh Rana has shown the potential of being a finisher for India. AP[/caption] Rodrigues was drafted into the side at No 3 in place of Punam Raut to give some push to India’s scoring rate, but her struggle with the bat has only increased management’s headache as they get the squad ready for the 2022 ODI World Cup. While Harmanpreet may still get an extended rope due to her past records, management will prefer to try out other batters at No 3 to have enough options come the ICC event. However, the biggest worry for India is the lack of depth in its middle-order. The squad is replete with top-order batters, and selectors need to keep it in mind while picking the next ODI squad. Bowling blueprint After unsuccessfully trying out a three-seamer combination in the first ODI, India went back to their strength of spin bowling with the addition of Poonam Yadav and Rana for the last two ODIs. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and pacer Pooja Vastrakar were the casualties. Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet were the other spin options for India in their playing XI. The spinners played a major role in India’s win in the third ODI. They combined for six wickets at Worcester and kept a lid on the scoring rate as England were bowled out for 219. The slow New Road pitch obviously provided support to the spinners but they had also excelled in the not-so-friendly conditions during the second ODI at Taunton when India took the game deep into the 48th over despite only defending 222. There were enough signs in the series to suggest that India will be pursuing the three spinners and two pacers’ strategy in the near future as they build to the World Cup.