Pause, rewind, play: Mithali Raj’s century in must-win game changed India’s 2017 World Cup course

By now, it is an established fact that the 2017 Women’s World Cup was a seminal moment for women’s cricket in India.

But before the path-breaking semi-final win over Australia and a heartbreakingly narrow loss to England in the final, was a much less popular but equally crucial match against New Zealand – a must-win match, a virtual quarter-final. In a way, it was a trifecta of the toughest teams in women’s cricket and started a memorable run.

After starting strong, India had lost back to back matches to South Africa and Australia and faced a group-stage exit if they failed to beat New Zealand. The White Ferns were ranked higher and had players in great nick while India were still underdogs at that point.

On paper, it was a lost cause despite the strong start against host England. But Mithali Raj rallied her team of youngsters and newcomers saying:

“..that is something that Indian players in general really need to work on. The girls are so talented, but it’s just a matter of how well they pull themselves up after a defeat. That’s what makes world champions.”

But it is what the captain did during the match that really turned around the tournament, and Indian cricket’s outlook.

The veteran, who had become the highest scorer in women’s ODI history a few days before, lead from the front with a century and India sealed a resounding 186-run win – their fourth-highest ever – to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

White Ferns captain Suzie Bates won the toss and put India in to bat first. It didn’t start well for India, with both openers Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut dismissed early. It looked to be the same old story of India at World Cups.

But captain Mithali’s solid century, combined with well-crafted partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored a balanced fifty, and Veda Krishnamurthy, who shined with a blitzkrieg 45-ball 70 helped India set a total of 265. In response, New Zealand were skittled for 79 in just over 25 overs with World Cup debutant Rajeshwari Gayakwad taking a fifer.

A win as commanding as any, with Raj the player of the match for her 109 off 123. It was only her second hundred in World Cups, despite being a veteran of five, since her debut in 2000 when she was just a teen.

On the day, Mithali came in to bat as early as the fourth over and stayed till the last over, before being dismissed with three balls to go. Interestingly, it was the first time she was dismissed after scoring a century in ODI cricket.

The captain’s knock contained 11 hits to the boundaries and was played at a strike rate of 88. This scoring rate is important because she was criticised for her strike rate in the previous loss to Australia.

It was her sixth ODI century – and first in three years – she formed two vital, 100-plus partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy. Throughout, she played both aggressor and sheet anchor as and when needed, adapting to the pace of both Harmanpreet and Veda. It was a free-flowing knock, belying the pressure the team and captain was under at the moment.

Fittingly, it was Mithali Raj – who for so long spearheaded Indian cricket with little recognition and attention – laid the foundation for the game-changing World Cup.

Here are the highlights of the memorable century