Bowlers, led by Deepti Sharma (3/11), stuck to their task and laid the foundation for India Women’s easy eight-wicket win over their West Indies counterparts in the tri-series at Buffalo park in East London on Monday.
Off-spinner Deepti was well supported by pacer Pooja Vastrakar (2/19) and left-arm orthodox Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/9) as the Windies posted a paltry 94/6 after being put into bat. For the Windies, only skipper Hayley Matthews (34 off as many balls) could make some sort of a contribution with the bat.
India, in reply, were never under pressure even after losing Smriti Mandhana early in the second over with just eight on the board. Mandhana’s opening partner Jemimah Rodrigues (42 not out) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (32 not out) took their time to settle down before unleashing a few shots as India comfortably overhauled the opponents’ total with 37 balls to spare.
Rodrigues played 39 balls to get those runs, hitting five boundaries while Kaur’s 23- ball knock featured four fours.
This eight-wicket win helped India finish the group stage with seven points from four matches — two points more than the second-placed and hosts South Africa, who they face in the final on Thursday at the same venue.
In terms of preparation ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup, India should be well placed following their performances in this tri-series. While they had enough time to get used to the conditions in South Africa, who are also hosts of the World Cup, the form of some of the cricketers — Deepti in particular — bodes quite well for the team.
“The captain and the rest of the team management have faith in me. So taking that alongside, I just look to bowl according to the conditions,” Deepti, adjudged Player of the Match, said.
“I practised before the games to be able to bowl in all phases and I’m getting a lot of support for that. I really don’t feel any pressure and I just look to enjoy whenever I get an opportunity,” she said.
Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, fresh from the U-19 World Cup triumph, will be adding to India’s options for the showpiece event. “It’s a great positive to have so many options (when Shafali and Richa return) and figure out the best XI,” captain Kaur said.
“The next game also provides us with an opportunity to put forward our best XI.” Kaur seems quite pleased with the overall performance of the squad. “Whoever is getting a chance is performing. I’m really happy that Jemi (Rodrigues) got some runs.”
Brief scores: WI Women 94/6 in 20 overs (H. Matthews 34; D. Sharma 3/11, P. Vastrakar 2/19). India Women 95/2 in 13.5 ovs (J. Rodrigues 42 n.o., H. Kaur 32 n.o.). India Women won by 8 wickets.
