IND-W vs WI-W T20 2024: India suffer nine-wicket defeat as West Indies level series
Smriti Mandhana, who captained India in place of an injured Harmanpreet Kaur, scored 62 while Windies skipper Hayley Matthews led the charge in the chase.
Cricket
The Indian women’s cricket team’s nine-match winning streak in T20Is was broken on Tuesday following a nine-wicket loss to the West Indies in the second game of the three-match series at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
Put into bat first after losing the toss, Indian batters, led by Smriti Mandhana’s well-paced 62, posted 159/9. In reply, the West Indian top-order, led by Hayley Matthews’ 85 off 47 balls, dominated the Indian bowling and chased down the target in 15.4 overs.
The Indian cricket team faced early blows batting first, losing opener Uma Chetry in the second over. Jemimah Rodrigues, the star of India's 49-run win in the series opening match, departed on the penultimate ball of the powerplay.
Debutant Raghvi Bist, stepping in for injured skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, also struggled to make an impact as India stumbled to 48/3 by the ninth over.
Smriti Mandhana found valuable support from Deepti Sharma, whose 17 off 15 allowed the Indian captain to score freely.
Mandhana completed her 50 in 37 balls at the end of the 13th over with a cracking boundary in the extra cover region. However, she fell to Hayley Matthews in the following over, leaving India at 104/4 in the 14th.
A late blitz by Richa Ghosh, who smashed 32 off 17 balls, propelled India to a competitive 159/9 despite a flurry of wickets at the other end.
Deandra Dottin, who was bought by the Gujarat Giants at the Women’s Premier League auction on Tuesday, was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/14 in four overs.
West Indian openers Qiana Joseph and Hayley Matthews came out with a positive mindset and dominated the Indian bowlers right from the outset.
The openers scored 65/0 in the powerplay. Saima Thakor picked up Qiana Joseph (38 off 22 balls) in the seventh over for her first wicket of the T20I career.
Despite losing her opening partner, Hayley Matthews continued to play aggressively and chipped away at the required rate with every passing over. She brought up her 50 in 31 and with a helpful 29 off 26 from Shemaine Campbelle, lifted the West Indies women's cricket team to victory with over four overs to spare.
The India vs West Indies T20 series decider will be played at the same venue on Thursday.
IND-W vs WI-W 2nd T20 2024 brief scores: India 159/9 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 62; Deandra Dottin 2/14) lost to West Indies 160/1 in 15.4 overs (Hayley Matthews 85*; Saima Thakor 1/28) by nine wickets.