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Punam Raut displayed true ‘spirit of cricket’ as she decided to walk off the field despite the umpire’s not out decision. On Day 2 of India women’s first-ever pink-ball Test against Australia, Raut edged it to the wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux and close-in fielders appealed but the umpire did not seem to pick the faint edge and shook his head. Molineux looked disappointed with the decision and by the time she turned towards Raut, she was already walking back to the pavilion.
The right-handed batter was applauded for her decision in the dugout and the spectators. Had Raut not walked off the field, the decision would have stood because no DRS is available in the one-off Test. Smriti Mandhana revealed
"At first our reaction was, 'oh why did she do that, was there an edge?' But yeah, it's [sportsmanship] something we respect a lot. She's earned a lot of respect for actually walking out," said Smriti Mandhana at the end of the yet another rain-interrupted day.
"I don't know how many people will actually do that in cricket at the moment, men's or women's if there's no DRS. Nowadays people walk out because there's DRS, but to walk off when there is no DRS - I don't know [how many would]. Definitely, she's earned a lot of respect from all of us for doing that," she added.
Australia’s star all-rounder Ellyse Perry too acknowledged Raut’s bold decision. "That's very much at her discretion whether or not she wanted to walk. She did, so I suppose from our point of view, it was just acknowledging that but beside that there wasn't too much conversation about it," Perry said.
Australia’s Beth Mooney too was asked the question whether she would walk off if the umpire has not given her out, to which she said “no chance”.
The no.3 batter scored 36 runs from 165 deliveries. The 31-year-old shared a 102-run partnership with centurion Smriti Mandhana. She departed just two balls before skipper Meg Lanning opted for the new ball.
