Eying a successful campaign in the forthcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, hosts South Africa, India, and the West Indies in their lead-up are involved in an ongoing Tri-Series in East London, South Africa. Match no.3 of the series had visitors, India and West Indies face off, but on offer was a one-sided affair.
1st innings: India – 167/2 (20.0)
India batting first had openers, Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia get the team off to a decent start, and just before the close of the powerplay overs, with 33 on board, India lost Yastika on 18(23). Harleen Deol then joined Smriti, but the two only shared a brief partnership as Harleen on 12(11) departed with 52 on board in the 9th over. Skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur then walked to the middle and alongside a set, Smriti Mandhana looked to put the pressure on the West Indies with boundaries in regular intervals. It wasn’t long before Smriti looked to switch gears and the pair then, with an unbeaten 115-run stand powered India to post 167 and the pair of Smriti and Harmanpreet finished unbeaten on respective scores of 74(51) and 56(35).
🇮🇳Sensational Smriti!!
Smashed an unbeaten 74 Runs in just 51 Balls against West Indies 🫡#CricketTwitter #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/y3V3PS89Zc
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 23, 2023
South Africa with the ball had Shanika Bruce with the best figures of 1/25 off 4 overs and the only other Indian wicket to have fallen was struck by Karishma Ramharack.
2nd innings: West Indies – 111/4 (20.0)
West Indies in reply didn’t have the best of starts as the side lost both its openers, Britney Cooper (golden duck) and Rashada Williams (13-ball 8) early in the innings with 20 on board inside 4 overs. It wasn’t long before West Indies lost their 3rd as Shabika Gajnabi on 3(10) departed with 25 on board early in the 7th over. Shemaine Campbelle then alongside skipper, Hayley Matthews stitched a harmless, 71-run stand that saw Windies safely negotiate through to the 90s. With 97 on board, in the 18th over, Campbelle departed on 47(57) and following a few late boundaries, Windies closed out on 111/4 with Matthews and Afy Fletcher unbeaten on respective scores of 34(29) and 10(11).
Partnership of 115* Runs in just 70 Balls
Harmanpreet Kaur 🤝 Smriti Mandhana
India put 167/2 on board in 20 overs. #CricketTwitter #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/5jV6BOmsxN
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 23, 2023
India with the ball had Deepti Sharma lead the wickets chart with figures of 2/29 off her 4 overs and had Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/16 off 4) and Radha Yadav (1/10 off 4) follow with a wicket each to their name.
Result: India won the 56 runs
Successive wins for India in the series see them well-placed for the finals, especially on the back of this convincing win, while West Indies with successive defeats have more questions than answers, and not far ahead is the upcoming ICC T20 showpiece.