India, July 4 -- Eight innings. That's all it took for Pratika Rawal to set a world record.

She is now the fastest woman in ODI history to 500 runs, toppling a record that had stood since 1997 (set by England's Charlotte Edwards). Rawal, 24, is also the second-fastest to this target across men and women, behind only South Africa's Janneman Malan.

In a sense, Rawal has always been in a hurry.

In Class 3, she asked her father, the BCCI-certified umpire Pradeep Rawal, if she too could build a life in this sport they both loved. "As long as you enjoy it, do it," he said.

That simple green light set her on an unusual path. Rawal didn't pursue cricket straight away. She graduated from Delhi's Jesus & Mary College in psychology, though she o...