ICC Women's World Cup: Punam Raut, Mithali Raj steer India to 226-7 against Australia

Bristol: Opening batter Punam Raut scored the second ODI century of her career to steer the Indian women’s cricket team to a competitive total of 226 for 7 from 50 overs against Australia at County Grounds in Bristol, on Wednesday.

The Aussies started off well, with Ashleigh Gardner removing star batter Smriti Mandhana, early on.

However, Punam Raut, along with captain Mithali Raj stabilised the innings after the early setback, to put up a 157-run partnership, taking India to 166 for two from 40.3 overs.

The Indian ladies would ideally have been looking to capitalise on the last 10 overs to put up a big score, but the Aussies managed to rein them back with wickets at regular intervals.

Megan Schutt (2-52) and Ellyse Perry (2-37) were the pick of the Aussie bowlers.

India captain Mithali, thanks to a gritty 69 she scored off 114 balls, became the first woman to score 6,000 runs in ODI cricket, surpassing Charlotte Edwards of England.

Scorecard:

India: 226-7 from 50 overs (Punam Raut 106, Mithali Raj 69; Megan Schutt 2-52, Ellyse Perry 2-37).