The Indian women's cricket team kicked off their ICC World Cup 2017 campaign on Saturday with a comfortable win over hosts England. While fans were curious to see how the Indian eves fared on the field, there was one particular sight that caught the attention of many.
As the Indian openers were plundering the English bowling attack, skipper Mithali Raj - who was to come in to bat at No.3 - was seen sitting on the sidelines and reading a book as she awaited her turn to bat.
Raj, one of the Indian team's best batswomen, has broken many records during her 18-year international career. She also holds the record for 47 fifties, the most by any international women’s player. Mithali's average in women’s ODIs, 52.27, is the best among women cricketers who have played over 100 ODIs.
It was no surprise then that Twitter was floored by the skipper's uber-cool approach to her cricket.
India went on to win the match by 35 runs, with Mithali becoming the first woman cricketer to score seven consecutive fifties in One Day Internationals.
After the game, the veteran revealed what prompted her to read a book so calmly in what many would say was a tense situation.
Earlier in the week, Mithali was in the news for asserting that female cricketers should not be compared to their male counterparts. On the eve of the Women's World Cup, Mithali, who was attending the opening dinner and media roundtable event, was asked who her favourite men's cricketer was between India and Pakistan to which she replied, "Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is? I have always been asked who's your favourite cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is,' ESPNcricinfo quoted her as saying.
The skipper also pointed out that the Indian women do not receive the same amount of publicity as compared to their male counterparts in a cricket-crazy nation like India. "There's a lot of difference because we are not a regular on television. Now the BCCI has made an effort that the last two home series have been televised and social media has improved a lot of it but there is a still a lot of catch-up to do in terms of recognition," she said.
(Inputs from ANI)
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