The Day Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut Rewrote Women’s ODI Cricket History

On this day in 2017, both these players had a magnificent day as they went against Ireland, which helped them to get their names in the history books of not only Indian cricket but also international cricket. In this article, we will be taking a look at the match and how the Deepti-Punam partnership shaped the game for the Indian cricket team.

15 May 2017: India Women vs Ireland Women

India Women went on a tour of South Africa for the Women’s Quadrangular series. In this series, the 8th match was between them and the Ireland Women’s team, who had been making strides in international cricket. Mithali Raj, the Indian captain, picked the right call, as she won the toss and elected to bat first. With the match being played at the Senwes Park, it was challenging for the Ireland Women’s team to chase down the score.

Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut came to open the innings, and what happened next went down in the history of Women’s cricket. The bowling line-up of the Ireland Women’s team had the upper hand at the start of the game, as they were able to maintain the economy rates in the powerplay. Having scored just 39 runs in the first 10 overs, Punam and Deepti had given a steady start to the team.

Punam Raut was able to play some aggressive shots in the beginning, showcasing her intent for the team, as she was called in as a replacement following the injury of Smriti Mandhana. As the overs progressed, both the batters started to score relentlessly against the Ireland bowlers, punishing them in every over. Punam Raut first smashed his half-century in just 68 balls, which was followed by Deepti Sharma, who scored 50 off 82 balls.

What fans thought was a slow start for the India Women’s team against Ireland later progressed to be the one with more boundaries. Deepti Sharma started to showcase his aggressive intent, which helped her to accelerate from 50 runs in 82 balls to 100 runs in 126 balls. Following their intent, the team reached 250 runs in 40.3 overs, as Punam Raut also scored a century in 109 balls.

Deepti was still able to find gaps between the players and smash boundaries with ease, as Punam now stood at the other end, just rotating the strike back to her, playing as the anchor. With this, the India Women’s team crossed the 300 runs mark in the opening partnership, which made them the first opening partnership in Women’s history to reach the 300 runs mark, where Deepti scored 170 and Punam scored 106.

As Deepti thought to touch the 200 runs mark, she lost her wicket to Rachel Delaney, being bowled out at the score of 188 runs off 160 balls with 27 fours and 2 sixes. Although missing out on her double century, she made her name for the Indian team ahead of the Women’s World Cup and notched the highest opening partnership ever in Women’s cricket history, with the score of 320 runs for the first wicket.

Following that, Punam Raut was also retired hurt at the score of 109 off 116 balls with 11 fours. Shikha Pandey came in to play the role of the finisher, as she scored 27 runs off 14 balls with 4 fours, which helped the India Women’s team to reach the score of 358 runs for the loss of just 2 wickets. Deepti and Punam became the first duo to reach a 300-run partnership in Women’s ODI cricket history, as previously the highest was 268 between Sarah Taylor and Caroline Atkins from England.

Chasing this mammoth target was never going to be easy for the Ireland Women’s team, but they thought to get as close to the same as possible for the Net Run Rate. But their innings never took off, as the lethal bowling line-up of the Indian team prevented them from scoring runs at all costs. In the powerplay, the team was only able to score 20 runs, which was comparatively less as compared to the target and the required run rate.

Mary Waldron and Leah Paul tried their best to stabilise the innings, but the pressure of the required run rate didn’t allow them to settle. As a result, Leah Paul lost her wicket to Deepti Sharma at the score of 13 runs off 48 balls, putting Ireland down by a wicket at the score of 42. Rajeshwari Gayakwad further continued to perform well with the ball, taking the wicket of Gaby Lewis (8 off 10).

With the pressure mounting, Mary Waldron also lost her wicket in a run out, which was made by Ekta Bisht, with Mary’s innings coming to an end at the score of 35 off 71. As the Ireland Women’s team went down to 62 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 24 overs, it was time for India Women’s bowling line-up to take over the game and start taking wickets relentlessly.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad was brought back into the attack, as she took the wickets of Laura Delany (10 off 31) and Rebecca Stokell (1 off 3) in quick succession. Since wickets were falling from the other end, Jennifer Gray was the only settled striker at this time for the Ireland Women’s team. Shikha Pandey later came into the attack to dominate over the lower order of the team.

She went on by taking the bails off three times in her spell, dismissing Laura Boylan (7 off 11), Rachel Delaney (0 off 5), and Amy Kenealy (4 off 3). After dismissing Amy Kenealy, the team was 8 wickets down by the 38th over and had scored just 107 runs, which showcases the domination put forward by the India Women’s team from both ends.

Now the game was just close to a perfect finish for the India Women’s team, as Rajeshwari Gayakwad took the 9th wicket by dismissing Louise Little at the score of 0 runs in 7 deliveries. Jennifer Gray was stable at the other end, but with constant wickets falling, it pressured her to take on the strike. As a result, Gray was run out by Punam Raut, as she went to the dugout at the score of 26 runs off 46 balls. Ireland Women’s team finally got all out at the score of 109, allowing India Women’s to win the game by 249 runs.

Deepti Sharma received the Player of the Match award for her magnificent 188 runs with the bat and even a wicket in 6 overs. The partnership between Deepti and Punam helped them to etch their names into history and also become a permanent part of the India Women’s team. Later, Deepti also got herself established as one of the best all-rounder batters produced in Women’s cricket history.

Highest Partnerships in Women’s Cricket (ODI)

With their 320-run partnership against the Ireland Women’s team, Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut got their names at the top when it comes to the highest partnership in Women’s ODI cricket. Deepti’s rapid-fire knock, combined with the perfectly anchored innings, was able to dominate the Ireland bowlers.

The second spot is currently held by Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek of New Zealand Women. In the clash against Ireland Women in Dublin, both smashed 295 runs for the 2nd wicket, which helped the New Zealand Women’s team to reach the massive score of 440 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Amelia Kerr came out as the star of the game, scoring 232 runs in 145 balls.

Partners	Runs	Wicket	Team	Opposition	Date
Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut	320	1st	India Women	Ireland Women	15 May 2017
Amelia Kerr, Leigh Kasperek	295	2nd	New Zealand Women	Ireland Women	13 June 2018
Sarah Taylor, Tammy Beaumont	275	2nd	England Women	South Africa Women	5 July 2017
Sarah Taylor, Caroline Atkins	268	1st	England Women	South Africa Women	8 August 2008
Haidee Tiffen, Suzie Bates	262	2nd	New Zealand Women	Pakistan Women	19 Match 2009

Sarah Taylor and Tammy Beaumont of the England Women’s team hold the third spot in the highest partnership, for their 275 runs stand for the 2nd wicket against South Africa Women. Taylor, known for dominating against the Proteas, was assisted by Beaumont, as their impressive partnership helped England to reach the total of 373, where Sarah scored 147 and Tammy scored 148.

Holding the record for the highest partnership for almost a decade, Sarah Taylor and Caroline Atkins’ 268-run partnership for the first wicket against South Africa Women is still remarkable. This match was being played at the Lord’s, where Taylor scored 129 runs and Atkins scored 145, which helped the England Women’s team to reach 310 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Currently, the fifth spot is still being held by Haidee Tiffen and Suzie Bates, for their 262-run partnership for the 2nd wicket against Pakistan Women. Moreover, it came in the Super Six clash of the 2009 Women’s World Cup, where Bates scored a mammoth 168 and Tiffen smashed a century. With the Kiwis ending their innings at 373, Pakistan Women fell short by 223 runs to win the game.