New Delhi: India went down by nine wickets in the second women’s T20I as West Indies pulled the three-match level 1-1 in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. The tourists chased down a 160-run target in 15.4 overs as skipper Hayley Matthews top-scored with an unbeaten 85 off 47 balls.
Mathews’ opening partner Qiana Joseph contributed 38 off 22 balls while No.3 batter Shemaine Campbelle was 29 not out off 26 balls as West Indies won with 26 balls to spare.
Saima Thakor took the lone West Indies wicket to fall, conceding 28 runs in three overs. Smriti Mandhana led India in place of th injured Harmanpreet Kaur, who picked up a niggle in her knee while batting in the first game.
Kaur’s absence paved the way for the debut of Raghvi Bist, the Uttarakhand all-rounder who was snapped up in the Women’s Premier League auction by Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Sunday.
Mandhana top-scorer for India
West Indies made two changes with off-spinner Ashmini Munisar and all-rounder Nerissa Crafton picked for her debut in place of Mandy Mangru and Shamilla Connell, respectively.
They won the toss and opted to bowl as skipper Matthews (2/36), Afy Fletcher (2/28), Deandra Dottin (2/14) and Chinelle Henry (2/37) chipped in to restrict India to 159/9.
Mandhana’s 41-ball 62 was the highlight of the Indian innings as she was complemented by middle-order batter Richa Ghosh’s 17-ball 32. But apart from these two none got going as India posted a fighting total.
India had won the series opener by 49 runs on Sunday. The final game of the series will be played on Thursday at the DY Patil Stadium.
After India’s loss, Mandhana said: “T20 cricket is like that. I think conditions changed, but we couldn’t execute our plans. There was moisture, but we couldn’t do better.
“As a bowling unit we need to execute our plans better going forward. There was a lot of dew, but we can’t complaint. We need to come back stronger in the next game.”
West Indies captain Matthews was adjudged the player of the match. She said: “We didn’t do well in the last game, so we had to come better in this game. Really showed them the way tonight.
“We had this game under control and finished it off well. We kept them under control. Happy with the total they got in the end, but we thought we had a chaseable target.”
West Indies chased down a 160-run target set by India in 15.4 overs as skipper Hayley Matthews top-scored with an unbeaten 85 off 47 balls Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
