India’s stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana delivered a spectacular performance with the bat in the 2nd T20I of the series against West Indies, crafting an impressive 62 off 41 balls with nine boundaries and a six. Despite her heroics, India suffered a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. The loss means the three-match series is now tied 1-1, with the decider set to take place at the same venue.
Mandhana’s blistering innings helped India post 159 for 9 in their 20 overs. However, the West Indies, powered by Hayley Matthews’ unbeaten 85, chased down the target in just 15.4 overs, with 26 balls to spare. The Indian bowlers struggled to contain the West Indies batters, conceding 27 boundaries and two sixes during the innings.
Reflecting on the loss, Mandhana expressed her disappointment with the team’s bowling effort, particularly their inability to execute under challenging conditions due to the dew factor. She stated, “Dew is a big factor when you play in Mumbai. As a team, we knew this was going to happen, and in these sorts of games, the toss plays a huge role. But as a team, we are not going to complain—we knew these conditions would be there. I just felt that execution as a team, as a bowling unit, could have been better. We will try to work on it.”
She also acknowledged Hayley Matthews’ exceptional innings, emphasizing the need for tighter bowling and the importance of creating pressure early in the game, stating, “Hayley is definitely a quality player. The only way we could get them out was to put pressure with dot balls, and we could not do that even in the start or after six overs. We could not create the pressure. As a bowling unit, we did give a lot of width. We have an off day tomorrow. We will work on things and come back stronger.”
Mandhana remains optimistic about the team’s growth, stating that they are focused on learning from their mistakes and steadily improving. She commented, “Only one thing I can say about this team is that we are really into this phase, and we really want to get better as a team and learn from our mistakes. In T20 cricket, you can have a great day and not have a great day, but as long as you are reviewing your day, then you are on a graph that is going up.”
The Indian skipper also rued her own dismissal, feeling she could have done more to anchor the innings given the team’s relatively inexperienced batting lineup, sharing “Sometimes as a batter, you want to do what you can do for the team. Again, I was really disappointed in the manner I got out. Our batting lineup is inexperienced, so it is our duty as experienced players to take the youngsters along with us. So, I’m really gutted that I kind of threw my wicket.”
Explaining the decision to send Deepti Sharma at no. 5, Mandhana highlighted the importance of having an experienced player to stabilize the innings. “Deepti, as I said, it is an inexperienced team. We have a Raghvi who is a debutant, so we want to give her a little bit of cushion. And again, with Richa, we know what she can do in the last 8-9 overs, so we do not want her to go there and try something different. So, Deepti fits that situation perfectly. She had that experience of rotating the strike at that period and she played her part beautifully,” said Mandhana.
Despite the loss, Mandhana etched her name in the record books by becoming the first batter in women’s T20I cricket to score 29 half-centuries, surpassing New Zealand’s Suzie Bates’ record of 28. This was Mandhana’s second fifty plus score of the series in as many matches after having scored 54 from 33 in the first T20I as well.
Mandhana’s recent exploits have propelled her to second place in the ICC Women’s ODI rankings and third in the T20I rankings. Her consistent performances against Australia and West Indies have significantly boosted her standings.
The third and final T20I will serve as the series decider, promising a thrilling encounter between the two sides. Both teams will look to bring their A-game as they battle it out at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
(Quotes sourced from the BCCI)
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