Punam Raut and Deepti Sharma stitched an unbeaten stand of 320 against South Africa in Potchefstroom and it was the highest stand in the history of women's cricket.
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When one looks at ODI cricket for men in India, there have been only two instances in 51 years of a 300-plus run partnership. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar hold the record for the highest stand for any wicket when they stitched a 331-run stand against New Zealand in 1999. Incidentally, in the same year, Dravid was part of an epic 318-run stand with Sourav Ganguly in the ICC World Cup clash against Sri Lanka in Taunton. When it came to women’s cricket, the highest was 268 by Caroline Atkins and Sarah Taylor against South Africa in Lord’s in 2008.
However, on May 15, 2017, two Indian women players changed the entire course of women’s cricket and entered new ground. Punam Raut and Deepti Sharma stitched a world record 320-run stand for the opening wicket for India during their ODI against Ireland in Potchefstroom. This was the first instance when any partnership in women’s cricket would cross 300. On this day, Raut and Deepti stitched a partnership that would go down in folklore as one of the best. In an interesting story, they would know that they were world record holders through Whatsapp
India chose to bat. Raut and Deepti started off slowly, managing just 39 runs in the first 10 overs. Both players regularly rotated strike and occasionally dispatched the loose balls to the fence. By the end of the 20th over, India had not even reached 100. By the half-way stage of the Indian innings, Raut had notched her fifty while Deepti Sharma neared her milestone.Â
In the 26th over, momentum changed. Deepti Sharma notched her fifty with two fours off Rachel Delaney. Both players continued to bat with aggression and they neared their centuries. A boundary was scored every over as Ireland struggled to control the runs. By the 35th over, India had reached 194, having scored 79 runs in the last 10 overs.Â
In the 39th over, it was Deepti Sharma who reached her century first with a four off Amy Kenealy. From that point on, her aggression increased. Deepti hit a six and two fours off Gaby Lewis as she motored along. In the 41st over, Deepti hit another six and two fours off Kenealy to race towards 150.
With two more fours, Deepti reached her 150 and Raut also notched up her century. India were on the charge. Deepti Sharma hit eight boundaries in three overs, including four in one over of Laura Boylan as she eyed a double ton.
Deepti Sharma was bowled for 188 by Rachel Delaney and her knock included 27 fours and two sixes. Her knock of 188 remains the highest individual score by an Indian woman cricketer in ODIs. But, her tally of 27 fours is the second-most by a batter. It was initially the highest but Amelia Kerr smashed 31 fours for New Zealand in 2018 against Ireland in her knock of 232*.
The partnership of 320 remained the only instance of a 300-plus stand in women’s cricket. India ended on 358/2. Some clean hits from Shikha Pandey, who hit 27 off 14 balls got India over 350. Pandey then took 3/16 and Rajeshwari Gayakwad chipped in with 4/18 as India achieved a massive 249-run win.
However, after the knock, none were aware of the record they had broken. In an interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Raut revealed they knew of the record only after it was shared on their Whatsapp group. “Even when we were closing in on the 300-run mark, little did we know we had already broken England women’s. It was only after our post-match recovery session in the pool that we got to know about the records from messages we received on our team’s WhatsApp group,” Raut said.
After their exploits in the 2017 quadrangular in South Africa, both Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut have been an integral part of the women’s team in India.
Deepti, in particular, has become the team’s best all-rounder. Born in Agra, she has played 58 ODIs and taken 65 wickets with a best of 6/20. With the bat, she averages a magnificent 39. Her economy rate of 3.88 and 6.06 in ODIs and T20Is makes her one of the best in the business. In a Twenty20 International in 2019 against South Africa, Deepti Sharma bowled three maidens and ended with figures of 3/8. She is the only cricketer in history to have bowled three maidens in a T20I.
Punam Raut, on the other hand, has been a strong opener. In 72 ODIs, she has scored 2267 runs at an average of close to 35. She is one of the few Indian players to have played a Test. In two Tests, she has scored 146 runs and it included a 130 against South Africa in Mysore in 2014. Her Twenty20 International record is also decent. She also holds the record for most hundreds in a calendar year when she hit two in the same year.
With India embarking on a tour of England shortly, Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut will be the key if India are to achieve success after a long time.
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