Punam Raut, Bowlers Help India Level ODI Series Against West Indies

Punam Raut smashed 77 and shared vital partnerships with Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur as India defeated the West Indies by 53 runs to win the second ODI and square the series 1-1 at Sir Viv Richards stadium in Antigua on Sunday. Raut shared a partnership of 66 with the skipper Mithali and 93 with Harmanpreet as India recovered from a poor start after they chose to bat. Jemimah Rodrigues and Priya Punia were dismissed cheaply but Raut and Mithali steadied the innings with some solid batting.

It was difficult going on a sluggish pitch in Antigua as both players struggled. Raut and Mithali capitalised on the rare loose deliveries but Mithali missed her fifty when she dismissed by Shenta Grimmond for 40. Harmanpreet showed her urgency and maintained a healthy scoring rate as she neared a fifty. At the other end, Raut calmly went past her fifty and she looked good for a century. However, in the death overs, West Indies fought back and got the wickets of Raut and Harmanpreet in quick succession as India ended on 191/6.

West Indies lost Stacy Ann-King and were dealt a blow when Natasha McLean retired out due to an injury. Shemaine Campbelle and Stafanie Taylor shared a 68-run stand but the Indian spinners simply built pressure by drying up the runs. Taylor was trapped LBW by Poonam Yadav while Campbelle fell for 39 to Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Deepti Sharma and Gayakwad ran through the lower middle order and India won the match by 53 runs. The two teams will face off again in the third ODI on Wednesday.  

Brief scores: India 191/6 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 77, Harmanpreet Kaur 46; Afy Fletcher 2/32) beat West Indies 138 all out in 47.2 overs  (Shemaine Campbelle 39, Stafanie Taylor 20; Deepti Sharma 2/25) by 53 runs.

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