Mackay (Australia), Sep 21 (IANS): India ODI captain Mithali Raj has become the first woman batter to reach the milestone of 20,000 career runs in all formats of the game.

Mithali, the highest runs scorer in women's cricket, reached the milestone while scoring 61 off 107 balls in the first ODI against Australia here on Tuesday. She has scored 7304 runs off 217 ODIs while in 11 Tests, she has made a total of 669 runs. In 89 T20Is, Mithali has scored 2364 runs.

On Tuesday, the India skipper had dropped anchor to stabilize the innings after the Indian women lost some quick wickets. On the way to her 63, Mithali added 77 runs for the third wicket Yastika Bhatia (35). In the process, Mithali also hit her 59th ODI half-century. Mithali helped India reach 225/8 in 50 overs but India lost the match by nine wickets.

Tuesday's innings helped the India ODI skipper continue to hold on to the number one spot in the ICC Women's ODI Rankings for batters. Mithali retained the top spot with 762 points.