India 195 for 4 (Rodrigues 73, Mandhana 54) won West Indies 146 for 7 (Dottin 52, Sadhu 3-37) by 49 runs
Mandhana’s new inaugural partner
With Shafali Verma down, Mandhana had a new opening partner in Uma Chetry, who was playing his fifth T20I. West Indies introduced spin as early as the second over after opting to bowl first, bringing in left-arm spinner Zaida James to bowl Mandhana. Thirteen runs emerged, with Mandhana pushing her for a first-ball four and Chetry punishing her with consecutive boundaries through the covers. Hayley Matthews came out on top in the fourth to bowl against left-handed Mandhana, but was instead bowled out for two consecutive fours off the first two balls. Mandhana found his flow, making more than half the runs in the openers’ 50-run stand at the end of the powerplay.
Despite having a life in the 14th over, having fallen into the slips, Chetry was unable to take advantage, struggling to score on the leg side and slowing against bowler Karishma Ramharack. They finally bowled it trying to move Ramharack for a 24 off 26 balls.
Rodrigues in flames
The wicket, however, ended up being positive for India, with Rodrigues joining Mandhana in the middle. Rodrigues stuck to his strengths, sweeping and sweeping the ball well from the start to reach his limits. Mandhana, meanwhile, went on the defensive to bowl down the spinners and also scored boundaries at regular intervals as the duo strongly attacked the up-pitched balls. Together they faced Matthews for 19 runs in the 13th over. Their partnership just crossed 80 when Ramharack returned to dismiss Mandhana for 54.
Richa Ghosh, who came in at number 4, ensured that India did not slow down, hitting two fours and a six in the first seven balls she faced. But it didn’t last long as Dottin caught her at mid-wicket. Rodrigues, however, continued to accumulate runs, reaching fifty off just 28 balls. He hit the limits all over the ground and also ran quickly between the wickets without tiring. He ran out 73 off 35 balls in the last over, but not before giving India a huge total.
Minnu Mani, super sub
As Harmanpreet Kaur did not take the field for the chase, Mandhana took over captaincy duties and Minnu Mani took over as a substitute. Mani made sure he made the most of his opportunity by taking excellent catches both in the infield and in the outfield on a misty afternoon in Navi Mumbai. In the second over, when Sadhu made Matthews pull the top edge, Mani ran back diagonally from middle, dived and caught the ball falling from a height with outstretched hands. It took another near-length when Chinelle Henry missed Radha Yadav in mid-air.
The dangerous Dottin was dropped first by Rodrigues and then by Mandhana, and finally ended up crashing into the hands of Radha, who moved to the left from afar to catch him. While India’s capture under the lights has been a subject of scrutiny before, they did the job quite well on the day.
Dottin dangerous, sadhu cool
Sadhu returned after an injury break in the Australia ODIs earlier this month, but it didn’t go well. But on Sunday, in heavy dew, he continued to mix his lines and lengths, managing to get three crucial wickets. While an excellent catch by Mani accounted for Matthews, he took Qiana Joseph by surprise by shortening his length just after taking a hit for six. Joseph ended up hitting the ball towards mid-on for a simple catch and departed for a 33-ball 49.
But with Dottin getting stronger, West Indies still had a chance to turn the game around. Dottin was at her usual best, coming off the mark with an 80-metre strike into deep mid-wicket and single-handedly keeping the scoring rate high despite little help from the other end. After falling for 40 the first time, he hit a six and a four to reach his half-century off just 26 balls. But he couldn’t capitalize on his second life after falling in the 52nd over and passing the next ball to Sadhu. That was pretty much the game for the West Indies, who at that point needed 70 off 31 balls.
Sruthi Ravindranath is Deputy Editor of ESPNcricinfo
