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It was very thrilling: Mithali Raj

By Our Special Correspondent

WELL DONE MY GIRL: A happy Mithali Raj, who scored a world record 214 in the third Test against England, gets a pat on her head from her proud coach, Vinod Sharma, as she poses with the Most Valuable Player trophy.

NEW DELHI AUG. 20. No jet lag for Mithali Raj as she undertakes a whirlwind tour of Delhi, meeting women's cricket officials and Railway officers.

The star batswoman from the Indian team is in demand even though little comes her way in terms of a promotion or financial boost after her stupendous effort of 214 — a world's best in women's Test cricket — against England last week. For some more time, she will continue to work as a junior clerk in South-Central Railway.

Having crashed into a rickety bed at the Karnail Singh Stadium in the wee hours of Tuesday after the long flight from London, Mithali shows no sign of fatigue in the evening as she hauls two heavy cases into the cycle rickshaw and rushes to the railway station to catch the train to Hyderabad.

It had been a long day for this shy 19-year-old, who admitted, "even a century was beyond my imagination. Scoring a double century was indeed very thrilling.''

Railways coach Vinod Sharma, who watched the Test series in England, was full of praise for Mithali even though the team's miserable performance came in for criticism.

"It was her knock which helped the team erase some poor memories of the tour (all out for 59 and 26 in the one-dayers). Mithali's was a flawless essay and I think it should inspire the team as a whole to raise its level whenever it takes the field next. She did us proud,'' said Sharma.

Mithali's knock was built on a strong self-belief. "I just wanted to do well for the team. Honestly, my thoughts went back to my parents and brother (Mithun) because they encouraged me a lot,'' gushed Mithali, who did not forget to mention the names of the coaches who shaped her career — Sampath Kumar and Jyoti Prasad. The team returned after the English tour, which proved an education for some.

Skipper Anjum Chopra was understandably disappointed when she said "what hurt most was the manner in which we played in the tri-series. I know the team is good and capable of playing much better. At least the latter part of the tour was satisfying. We drew the second Test and then Mithali played such a fantastic innings. It was such a pleasure watching one of us make a world record.''

Vinod Sharma, who was the observer for the series, pointed to the lack of proper planning as a key factor for the Indian team faring poorly in the one-dayers. "The girls had no clue about the playing conditions. The team should have had at least one week's acclimatisation because the conditions were so different from what they encounter at home,'' he informed.

Whatever the conditions, the team rode on Mithali's brilliance towards the end of the tour. Her Statemate Nooshin-al-Khadeer was more delighted. She remembered every detail of the innings, having done the scoring for the Test at Taunton.

"567 minutes, 402 balls, 19 fours, no chances,'' Nooshin rattled off the figures and recalled some of the finer moments of the marathon innings even as she carried the memento presented to Mithali by the organisers.

"I'm happy I contributed to give my mates something to cheer about. It wouldn't have been possible without the support of the lower half of the batting. Jhulan (Goswami) was a remarkable motivator during my progress towards the double century. Without her support, I wouldn't have earned this distinction. She kept me going and I can never forget her assistance when I needed it most,'' said Mithali with her humility emerging as a strong part of her character.

"It was a special feeling because I had always wanted to make a mark in England,'' said Mithali. It was her second visit to England and as she pointed out "was the most memorable phase of my career.''

An unassuming youngster, she took the media attention in her stride in quite a matured manner. With Nooshin as company, she did not mind at all the 28-hour train journey she will undertake before seeing her family.

Even as the officers in Rail Bhawan, not to forget the Minister, received the petite Mithali and patted her for her world record innings, it did not occur to anyone that they could gift her an air-ticket to her hometown.

Not that Mithali was cribbing. She was happy, lugging her cases to her compartment for the long journey. Mithali and Nooshin would spend the time remembering the grand innings of Taunton, with the latter providing the minutest details.

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