Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup: Mithali Raj becomes first Indian cricketer to amass 2000 T20I runs

Kuala Lumpur: Star batswoman Mithali Raj on Thursday became the first Indian cricketer to amass 2,000 runs in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). The 35-year-old right-hander achieved the landmark after scoring a single off Oshadi Ranasinghe en route to her knock of 23 during India’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup T20. She now has 2,015 runs in 75 matches. [caption id=“attachment_3852255” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of India’s Mithali Raj. Reuters[/caption] The ICC acknowledged Mithali’s milestone and congratulated her on Twitter. “Congratulations to @M_Raj03 on reaching 2,000 T20I runs - the first player to reach the landmark for @BCCIWomen #INDvSL #WAC2018,” ICC wrote on its twitter handle. BCCI also congratulated Raj on her achievement. “Congratulations to @M_Raj03. She becomes the first Indian woman to score 2000 runs in T20 Internationals. #INDvSL #ACC #WAC2018,” BCCI tweeted. Mithali is the seventh woman to reach 2,000-runs, a list which is being headed by Charlotte Edwards (2,605), followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515). Interestingly, India men’s team captain Virat Kohli (1,983) is the next Indian on the list, followed by Rohit Sharma (1,852) and Suresh Raina (1,499).