New Delhi: India opener Smriti Mandhana might have grabbed headlines with her maiden Test ton in the pink-ball Test against Australia at the Carrara Oval on Thursday, but it was Punam Raut who stole hearts with her decision to walk off even though the umpire hadn't given her out.
Speaking at the end of the game, Mandhana said Raut has earned a lot of respect after her decision to walk. "First we reacted, like, 'Oh, why did she do that?' But, then, of course, it's something that we all respect a lot. I think she has earned a lot of respect from all the teammates that she actually walked out," Mandhana said as reported by ESPNcricinfo. "And I don't know how many people would actually do that in cricket at the moment -- men's or women's.
"Nowadays people walk out because there is DRS. But when there is no DRS and to walk out... I don't know. So, definitely she has earned a lot of respect from us, but, yeah, the first reaction was, 'Oh, was it actually an edge or why did she walk?'" The incident took place in the 81st over of the India innings when Sophie Molineux's delivery took a thin edge and landed into keeper Alyssa Healy's gloves. Not only was the appeal from the Australian placers weak, but also the umpire didn't raise the finger. But Raut decided to walk off.
Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana continued her dominance over Australia on Friday as she notched her maiden Test century on the second day of the pink-ball Test. Smriti continued taking the attack to the opposition on the opening session of Day 2 as she reached the triple-figure mark in the 52nd over of the innings after smashing two fours off Ellyse Perry.
The Indian opener was clinical throughout as she punished anything too full or too short with a host of impressive drives and pulls. With this Test ton, Smriti now has the highest individual score for India Women in Australia in all three formats.
The highest individual score in Australia for Team India are as follows; Tests: Smriti Mandhana (108*), ODIs: Smriti Mandhana (102), and T20Is: Smriti Mandhana (66).
