![Birthday: Mithali Raj is an inspiration to youngsters, Know her journey](https://media.newstracklive.com/uploads/sports-news/cricket-news/Dec/02/big_thumb/Mithali-Raj-portal-s_5fc767a822248.jpg)
Today is the birthday of Indian woman cricketer Mithali Raj. She was born on 3 December 1982 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. She has also acquired training in 'Bharatanatyam' dance and has given many stage programs. Due to cricket, she stayed away from her Bharatanatyam dance classes for a long time. The dance teacher advised her to choose between cricket and dance. Her mother Leela Raj was an officer. Her father Dheeraj Raj Dorai was in the Air Force prior to his job at Raj Bank. He has also been a cricketer himself, he did everything possible to encourage Mithali.
In order to meet the travel expenses of Mithali Raj, her father cut his expenses. Similarly, his mother Leela Raj also had to give many sacrifices for the daughter. She quit her job to help her daughter so that she could take care of her daughter when she returned tired after practising sports. In childhood, when her brother was given cricket coaching, she used to spin the ball when she got the opportunity. Then cricketer Jyoti Prasad notices her and says that she will be a good player of cricket. Mithali's parents encouraged her to move forward and helped in such a way that she was able to reach this point.
Mithali Raj of Hyderabad participated in the One Day International for the first time in 1999. The match took place in Milton Keynes, Ireland in which Mithali scored 114 not out. She played the first Test match against England in Lucknow in 2001–2002. When Mithali first appeared in an international Test match, she was dismissed on Duck (Zero) without scoring any runs but she showed up in her career on the strength of her hard work and set the record for the highest ever in international women's cricket by scoring 214 runs.
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