Cape Town: India Women won their match against West Indies by six wickets in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa on Wednesday. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma spun a web around the West Indies batters to restrict them to 118 for six before captain Harmanpreet Kaur and wicket keeper Richa Ghosh proved the much-needed stability to take the team home in the World Cup Group 2 match here on Wednesday.
Seasoned Deepti (3/15) picked three wickets to become the first Indian to get to 100 T20I wickets. Asked to bowl, Pooja Vastrakar (1/21), opening with the new ball, gave India the early breakthrough, getting rid of the dangerous Hayley Matthew (2), striking on her very first ball. The West Indies skipper was done in by the extra bounce as Richa Ghosh completed a regulation catch. Pooja continued to put pressure on the West Indies, bowling a wicket maiden. Shemaine Campbelle (30) hit West Indies' first boundary in the third over, slapping a Renuka Singh (1/22) delivery past square leg.
The introduction of spin led to West Indies collecting 12 runs, including two fours from Rajeshwari Gayakwad's over. West Indies were 53 for 1 at the halfway mark. Campbelle and Stefanie Taylor (42) steadied the West Indies innings as they slowly but steadily stitched a 73-run partnership. The two shared nine boundaries between them.
However, twin strikes from the ever-reliable Deepti led to a mini batting collapse. The off-spinner first punished Campbelle for going for a reverse sweep with Smriti Mandhana completing a lovely catch at short third. Three balls later, she trapped Taylor leg before which was initially deemed not out by the umpire but India successfully reviewed the decision and got it changed. Chinelle Henry (2) was the next to go as Mandhana and Ghosh effected her run out.
India were able to stem the flow of runs but their fielding was found wanting. Deepti dropped Chedean Nation on 3 in the 16th over. Nation and Shabika Gajnabi (15) took West Indies past the 100-run mark. Deepti reached the 100-wicket milestone in the last over when she bamboozled Aly Fletcher (0).
Here's what the captains had to say at the start of the game
Harmanpreet Kaur: We wanted to bat today. Last game we chased. Today, the wicket is looking a little better compared to the last game. We wanted to bat first. Smriti and Devika are back. We know them. We played a couple of games before the tournament. Big day for all of us (when asked about the auction).
Hayley Matthews: We are gonna have a bat. Last game didn't go too badly. We have one change. We had the tri-series. India are a strong side. We would look to get better of them by playing our brand of cricket.
Teams:
India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh
West Indies Women (Playing XI): Hayley Matthews(c), Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Afy Fletcher, Shamilia Connell, Rashada Williams(w), Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman
