Ind W vs Aus W: Spirit of cricket debate reignited as Raut walks off despite given not out

India Women’s batter Punam Raut sparked a fresh debate of ‘Spirit of Cricket’ as she decided to walk off the pitch after being adjourned not-out by the umpire during Day 2 of the one-off pink-ball Test between the Australian Women and Indian Women. In the 81st over of India’s first innings, Raut faced a beautiful delivery by Australian spinner Sophie Molineux in the fourth ball of her over, which lured Raut to play a defensive stroke outside the off-stump. The ball spun on pitching and brushed off the edge of the batter, and was caught by the wicket-keeper. However, Australians went up with a half-hearted appeal as Punam Raut walked off, despite being given not-out by the umpire.

Australia had the option to take their second new ball in the 81st over of the innings. However, they decided to go ahead with the old ball and were immediately rewarded with a wicket. Raut’s wicket fell at a crucial point for India, with the second new ball available, just ahead of the Dinner break on Day 2. The ‘Spirit of Cricket’ debate saw a fresh spark following Raut’s dismissal, where on the one hand, netizens hailed her for her display of sportsmanship; on the other hand, people also were critical of the 31-year-old cricketer for deciding to walk off at a crucial period for India.

Punam Raut walking off against Australia

'Spirit of Cricket' debate takes over the internet

A Twitter user mentioned Punam Raut, for displaying why India is ahead of all other nations when it comes to the ‘Spirit of Cricket’. Another user hailed Raut for the act, even though her decision to walk off would be divisive. She added that when you are a walker, you tend to walk all the time, and not only when it is easy. In the conclusion of her tweet, the user added that walking off won’t be making people happy but the batter would definitely sleep easy, having stuck to her values.

Another user reacted by saying that, if put in the same situation, the user would never walk as there was no DRS available for Australia, citing the umpire’s decision as word of the law. The user further added that sometimes’s decisions go in favour of batters and there is nothing illegal there. However, the user also mentioned that Raut is not at fault for waling as it was her own decision to make.

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Image- @cricketcomau/ Fox Cricket