Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur’s outstanding centuries set up a massive win for India as they climbed to the top of the points table at the ICC Women’s World Cup after a brilliant performance against the West Indies.
The pair posted an invaluable 184-run stand for the fourth wicket and completely took the game away from the West Indian women before an excellent bowling performance from the Indians blew away the Windies, as India secured their second-biggest victory in terms of runs, as they romped home by 155 runs.
After choosing to bat first, Yastika Bhatia got the Indians off to a brisk start before getting out in the sixth over for 31, after which Mandhana took over. Captain Mithali Raj’s poor run in the tournament continued, as she was dismissed in a rather tame fashion after scoring just five runs. Deepti Sharma also looked good for a brief while before a terrific catch by Hayley Matthews sent her packing.
Kaur then joined Mandhana in the middle, and the duo put on a show. They were just too good for the Windies on the day, and added 184 runs for the fourth wicket, as Mandhana reached a fine century before Shamilia Connell broke the partnership.
Kaur continued the onslaught and got to a well-deserved century, as the Indian score went well past 300. At the end of the 50 overs, India closed at 317/8, setting the Windies women an uphill target of 318.
The Windies started off in an outstanding fashion, as Matthews and Deandra Dottin took the attack to the Indian bowlers. They added 100 runs for the first wicket in no time, and it seemed like the contest was going to be a hard-fought one. Dottin had scored 10 boundaries and a six before Sneh Rana opened the floodgates.
After a period of total dominance, a stunning collapse left the Windies undone, as Meghna Singh and Sneh Rana both took two wickets each to send the West Indies from 100/0 to 114/4.
It only went downwards for the Caribbeans from that point, as the Indian women took complete control. The Windies innings fell apart and were bundled out for 162, an astonishing anticlimax considering their strong start. India won the game by 155 runs as they climbed to the top spot.
Mandhana was given the Player of the Match award, but she also made a wonderful gesture, inviting Kaur to collect the award along with her. With the win over the Caribbean, India’s qualification hopes have been given a massive boost.
