West Indies 160 for 1 (Mateo 85*, José 38) beat India 159 for 9 (Mandhana 62, Dottin 2-14, Fletcher 2-28) by nine wickets
The West Indies leveled the T20I series in style, with captain Hayley Matthews leading a solid batting performance in a nine-wicket thrashing. Matthews hit an unbeaten 85, courtesy of 17 fours, just four shy of India’s 21, to help West Indies break a sequence of nine consecutive T20I losses to India.
Matthews’ brilliance helped cover up a poor fielding display in which Qiana Joseph, who also led the chase with 38, bowled India’s stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana once, one of the three lives she received that night. However, India’s 159 for 9, in the face of dew and a strong batting force in the opposition, was never going to be enough.
Chetry and debutant Bist fall for little money
India’s first green order left them reeling. Deandra Dottin castled Uma Chetry with an in-ducker for 4. Afy Fletcher, who scored 39 in her four overs two nights ago, had debutant Raghvi Bist lbw for 5. Between these two strikes, Jemimah Rodrigues fell trying to get into the line and rowing. At 48 for 3 in the ninth over, West Indies had India on the ropes.
Failed catches left Mandhana off the hook
India received a huge boost from some West Indian generosity; They dropped Mandhana three times, twice by Chinelle Henry, between the 11th and 14th overs. However, Mandhana would soon run out of luck in the 14th over, but not before raising a second successive half-century, off 37 balls. Amidst those dropped catches, India hit six fours and a six in a two-over spell that scored 36, going from 72 for 3 in 12 overs to 108 for 4 in 14.
Dottin’s brilliance helps West Indies recover
If overs 12 to 14 produced boundaries, the next two applied the spins as West Indies removed Deepti and S Sajana. But Richa Ghosh cut, bowled and batted the spinners to race to 32 for 16. Just when she had hopes of a brilliant half-century, she was sent back behind the stumps by the flying Shemaine Campbelle, caught while trying to scythe. Dottin’s yorker.
Then in the final over, Dottin showed his athleticism by running at least 20 yards around the long fence to make a stunning catch on the move to dismiss Radha Yadav.
Joseph made up for his mistakes on the field by attacking rookie Titas Sadhu to start the chase. His quick hands and clean work gave him three fours and a six in an 18-run second. Renuka Singh then came in for punishment as Joseph hit a monstrous six in a run of 14. The openers scored an opening half-century in five overs. Saima Thakor got her first T20I wicket when she fooled Joseph with a slower ball off the back of her hand in the seventh over, but by then the foundation was already laid with a 66-run stand.
Matthews finishes it off in style.
That was to be India’s only moment of consolation on the field as Matthews quickly took charge to raise a half-century off 31 balls in one over when he sent left-arm spinner Radha Yadav for four consecutive fours. India hit 21 fours and sixes in all their innings. The West Indies had equaled that boundary count on the 13th to make it one-way traffic. The series couldn’t have lived up to a more emphatic chase.
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