Day and Date: Sunday, November 10
Match 1: India Women v West Indies Women
Time: 3:30 am IST
Venue: Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
After an enthralling 3 match ODI series between the hosts, West Indies, and the Indian Team which was won by the latter, we move on to a 5 match T20 series between the two teams, which will take place between 9th November and 21st November at two venues – St Lucia and Guyana.
Preview
The recently concluded ODI series between the two teams saw India lose the first game only to make a strong comeback in the second and eventually go on to win the decider ODI game. The player of the series award was bagged by the Windies captain, Stafanie Taylor for her consistent performance through the series. The final match saw Indian star-player Smriti Mandhana make a comeback from a toe injury, playing a match-winning knock of 74 runs off 63 balls. Smriti is certainly one of India’s strongest T20 players and hence her comeback is definitely a plus for the team ahead of the T20 series.
India’s last T20 encounter was at home, against the touring South African women. It was a 6 match T20 series which India won comprehensively by 3-1. Deepti Sharma, the Indian star all-rounder, won the Player of the Series award. While the West Indian ladies faced Australia last in the shortest format of the game, the 3 match T20 series in which the Windies failed to score a single win – it was won by Australia 3-0.
There have been quite a few changes in the West Indies squad – Chinelle Henry will make a comeback after missing out on two games due to a concussion. Pacer Shakera Selman, too, is returning after being out on a precautionary note. While the Indian team will see the return of T20 specialists to the team.
Weather and Pitch Forecast
The weather forecast for match day shows a temperature of about 28⁰ Celsius, partly sunny, with a shower or two expected. The pitch at Darren Sammy Cricket Ground is usually good for the batters. If there’s a shower, the moisture might make the pitch slower and assist the seam bowlers.
Head to Head
Looking at their previous 5 T20I encounters, West Indies have the upper hand. India has won just once against the West Indies, who have won the 4 games.
Played – 5: India – 1 West Indies – 4
West Indies Squad: Stafanie Taylor (c), Anisa Mohammed (VC), Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Shakera Selman, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Stacey-Ann King, Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean, Shabika Gajnabi, Shermaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond
West Indies probable XI: Stafanie Taylor, Anisa Mohammed, Hayley Matthews, Natasha McLean, Chinelle Henry, Stacey-Ann King, Shermaine Campbelle, Kyshona Knight, Shakera Selman, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne.
India Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Mansi Joshi, and Arundhati Reddy.
India probable XI: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav.
Fantasy Players: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Kyshona Knight, Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews, Deepti Sharma, Shemaine Campbelle, Poonam Yadav, Anisa Mohammed, Afy Fletcher, Pooja Vastrakar.
Loves all things female cricket