New Delhi: Thanks to top-class hundreds from opener Smrithi Mandhana and middle-order batter Harmanpreet Kaur and a crucial economical spell from off-spinner Sneh Rana, India achieved their highest ever total in Women’s World Cup history and successfully defended it Saturday against the West Indies at Hamilton’s Seddon Park.
The thumping 155-run win meant that India leapfrogged the competition to reach the top of the table in the round-robin stage on net run rate.
Mithali Raj’s side will now head back to Mount Maungunui’s picturesque Bay Oval ù the site of their 107-run victory against Pakistan — to take on defending champions England, who have lost their first two games against Australia and West Indies respectively.
West Indies openers Deandra Dottin (who was nursing an injury) and Hayley Matthews dominated India’s new-ball attack in their chase of 319 and plundered a century partnership in the first 12 overs of the second innings.
Seam-bowling stalwart and leader of the attack Jhulan Goswami overtook Lynette Fullston to become the all-time leading wicket taker in Women’s World Cup history by dismissing tailender Anisa Mohammed in the 36th over.
But in the crucial powerplay phase of the innings, Goswami performed well below her usual standard. Dottin’s and Matthews’ allround strokeplay and manipulations of the field placements meant that Goswami increasingly and significantly strayed from any semblance of a consistent line and length.
The fifth over, and Goswami’s third, in particular went for 21 runs as the West Indies threatened to extend their 100 per cent record in the tournament with a third consecutive giant killing.
However, the decision to take off Goswami and an ineffective Deepti Sharma, and replace them with Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad, had a near-instant impact.
The turnaround
Although Dottin and Matthews safely negotiated Deepti’s flatter, non-threatening darters, they struggled to pick up easy singles or boundary gaps against Gayakwad’s nagging left-arm spin or Rana’s more flighted, revs-filled offspin.
By the 13th over, Dottin’s fitness and endurance struggles appeared to catch up with her after she had achieved the century stand with Matthews, and scored a quickfire half century in the process.
As such, two balls into Sneh Rana’s spell, the Barbadian tried to play a sweep shot to a full leg-stump off break and top-edged it straight to Meghna Singh inside the 30-yard circle.
The middle order batters that followed, Kycia Knight and Stafanie Taylor, had come into the tournament in shocking form, and continued that trend against India.
The duo never looked comfortable against Rana or Meghana Singh, piling up dot balls and keeping the in-form Matthews off strike before throwing their wickets away with ill-judged shot selection.
Once Matthews herself was dismissed by Rana for trying to play a back-foot cut to yet another full, flighted delivery, the West Indies’ innings had transformed from a potential record run chase to a snails’ pace, while India had recovered from shockingly wayward bowling to the perfect total defence.
From 100-0 after 12 overs, Matthews’ dismissal had come 6.2 overs later with the West Indies at 114-4. The promising lower order led by Chedean Nation slowly crumbled under the now rising scoreboard pressure, and the result had been decided by Rana.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
Also read: Indian women score first loss against New Zealand in ICC World Cup, to face in-form West Indies next