India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, is currently hosting the West Indies, led by skipper Hayley Matthews, for a white-ball series that includes a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series from 15th to 27th December 2024.
Jemimah Rodrigues (73 off 35 balls) took the attack to the opposition bowlers along with the Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (54 off 33 balls) who also chipped in with a half-century to set up a solid foundation before the bowlers backed it up with a clinical performance to give India a series lead with a comprehensive 49-run win in the 1st T20I. Jemimah Rodrigues was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance with the bat.
The home side suffered a huge blow with the news of their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur missing out in the 2nd game courtesy of a niggle in her knee that she suffered while batting in the 1st T20I. Notably, she also didn’t take the field in the 1st T20I in India’s bowling innings. Smriti Mandhana took over the leadership duties in the 2nd game and in her absence, 20-year-old batter Raghvi Bist, who has been impressive at the domestic level while representing Uttarakhand, was handed her senior team debut cap.
India managed a total of 159/9 in their quota of overs in the 2nd T20I, an impressive bowling performance from the visitors, that didn’t let the Indian batters get off the hook. Power-packed performances from skipper Hayley Matthews (85* off 47 balls), and Qiana Joseph (38 off 22 balls) gave the West Indies a series-levelling victory by 9 wickets in the 2nd T20I. The series is nicely poised at 1-1 between both these power-packed, and highly competitive sides.
In some good news for Indian fans and a major boost for the home side, Harmanpreet Kaur was seen facing the bowlers in the nets, smashing it around, doing her routine warm-up drills, and is raring to go and in all likelihood will return to the side, for the much-anticipated series decider at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, in Navi Mumbai, against the Hayley Matthews-led side, later tonight from 7 PM IST.
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