Jhulan Goswami retirement: Career in numbers

The phenomenon that is Jhulan Goswami was greeted by a guard of honour as she walked out to bat at Lord’s in her farewell appearance for India. Goswami graciously waved to them all in gratitude as she passed through the initial guard of honour, savouring the occasion.

It didn’t matter as much in the context of her farewell that she fell trying to drive at a bigger delivery that jagged back in from the 17-year-old seamer Freya Kemp, who wasn’t even born when Goswami made her international debut. 

Also read: Jhulan Goswami receives guard Of honour from England players in her last ODI

We look back at her 20-year spanning career in numbers.

1. Jhulan Goswami has the most wickets of any player in women’s internationals with 355 across all formats. She was the first player to record 300 wickets in women’s international matches in 2018. Since then, Shabnim Ismail (309), Anisa Mohammed (305), Katherine Brunt (329), and Ellyse Perry (313) have also surpassed that threshold.

2. 20 years and 261 days that separated Goswami’s ODI debut in 2002 and her final game at Lord’s. In women’s cricket, it is the second-longest ODI career, trailing Mithali Raj’s 22 years and 274 days. The only female players with more over 200 ODI appearances are Raj and Goswami, who have participated in 232 and 204 games, respectively.

Also read: Jhulan Goswami retirement: 5 best bowling performances

3. The only female cricketer with 200 or more ODI wickets is Goswami. She has 255 wickets in this format, which is 64 more than Ismail (191), who is second best.

4. Two bowlers, including Goswami, have a five-for in each of the three forms during women’s international matches. The Indian bowler achieved this feat in 2012 after recording her first five-for in T20 Internationals, while Jenny Gunn of England repeated it in 2014 after recording her first five-for in a Test match.

5. Jhulan Goswami recorded the most wickets of any bowler during the women’s ODI World Cups with 43. Different batters have taken all 43 of the wickets.

Also read: KL Rahul-Jhulan Goswami video in nets at NCA goes viral

6. Goswami made her farewell appearance on Saturday at the age of 39 years 303 days. She is the oldest player to have ever represented India in a women’s international competition. In addition, Goswami is the oldest Indian to play in a Test match and the oldest Indian to compete in an ODI at the Women’s World Cup.

7. 47.28 percent of Goswami’s ODI innings (87 out of 184) had an economy rate of 3 or lower. She only allowed more than six runs per over in six separate situations.

8. Goswami’s bowling statistics in the 2012 Visakhapatnam T20I match against Australia were 5 for 11. These are India’s top T20 International bowling statistics for women. In women’s ODIs, she is one of only three Indians to get a six-wicket haul.

Also read: India captain Rohit Sharma becomes leading six-hitter in T20Is

9. Shikha Pandey (119), Asmavia Iqbal (114), and Amita Sharma (108) are the other three Asian seamers with 100-plus wickets in women’s international matches in addition to Goswami. These three fast bowlers have combined for 341 wickets, 14 fewer than Goswami’s total.