Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur punish West Indies in one-sided win

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Team India annihilated the West Indies by 56 runs to register their second win of the ongoing Womens T20I Tri-Series at Buffalo Park on Monday, January 23. The win was set up by the returning Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, who forged an unbeaten 115-run stand in the first innings, taking their side to a challenging 167/2.

The Windies needed a herculean effort to chase the target on a surface that wasn’t the easiest to bat. Their chase derailed before it even started as Britney Cooper was dismissed for a golden duck in the second over by Deepti Sharma. Her opening partner Rashada Williams was also dismissed cheaply to conclude an abysmal powerplay for the Women in Purple.

Shabika Gajnabi followed suit just after the powerplay as the Indian bowlers were all over their opponents. Shemaine Campbelle and the Windies skipper Hayley Matthews showed glimpses of a comeback, which never came as the Indian bowlers never let them score freely. Campbelle fell three short of a fighting half-century, and despite Matthews’ best efforts, the Windies could only manage 111 runs on the board, handing a comfortable victory to India.

Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur turned on the heat with an explosive stand 

The returning Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to bat first on a two-paced surface in East London. Young Indian opener Yastike Bhatia could not capitalize on her her start and fell in the last over of the powerplay. Harleen Deol also departed cheaply, bringing the hard-hitting Harmanpreet Kaur to the crease.

Kaur, along with Smriti Mandhana, steadied the ship after the fall of those two early wickets. Although the Windies bowlers kept a lid on run-scoring opportunities, India managed an upper hand in the contest by not losing any further wickets. The experienced India pair took the attack to the bowlers after the 14th over mark, in pursuit of a challenging total.

Both batters went into overdrive in the death overs, smashing 18 runs off the 18th over of the match. Mandhana reached yet another eye-catching half-century, remaining unbeaten of 74 off 51 deliveries, while her skipper dazzled her way through a 35-ball 56, helping India to a daunting 167 runs.

Here is how Twitter reacted to India’s domination of the Windies:

A strong performance from India as they send a #T20WorldCup warning shot to the rest of the field 👊#INDvWI scorecard 👉 https://t.co/UvAGEmnfPg pic.twitter.com/ZsTF6TM40q

— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2023

For her excellent unbeaten 7️⃣4️⃣*(51) in the first innings, vice-captain @mandhana_smriti bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia clinched their second win of the Tri-Series with a 56-run victory over West Indies 👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/tNMO0AAnzm#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/Y9QoRSLtdS

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) January 24, 2023

Player of the Match Smriti Mandhana to the team (and media) manager: “Aaj bahut log hain (Quite a few of them have turned up at the presser today)”.

A chuckle followed the astute observation.

2:10am IST | #INDvWI | 📷 CSA pic.twitter.com/PLFFfrbBe3

— Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha) January 23, 2023

Firming as one of the #T20WorldCup favourites 🏏

Multiple India batters stand up in their T20I win over the West Indies 👊#INDvWIhttps://t.co/9p5ElaHbyO

— ICC (@ICC) January 24, 2023

Smriti Mandhana is just the 4th woman to hit 50 sixes in T20Is & just the 2nd to hit 50 sixes as opener in women’s T20Is.#INDvWI https://t.co/mZxLrpdtDC

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) January 23, 2023

Most runs as an opener in women’s T20Is

3402 @SuzieWBates
2570 @C_Edwards23
2525 @mandhana_smriti

Smriti Mandhana is the 3rd to 2500 runs#INDvWI

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) January 23, 2023

Most 70+ scores by Indians in women’s T20I:

7 – Smriti Mandhana
3 – Mithali Raj
3 – Jemimah Rodrigues
2 – Harmanpreet Kaur
1 – Punam Raut
1 – Shafali Verma#INDvWI

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) January 23, 2023

A very comfortable win for India. WI needed to show a lot more intent, too many dot balls and left a lot for Haley Matthews. #INDvWI

— Jigar Mehta (@jigsactin) January 23, 2023

🏏🙌 TARGET SET! Smriti Mandhana & Harmanpreet Kaur joined hands and helped India put on a total of 167 on board.

💪 Let’s win this one & make it 2 in 2!

📷 Getty • #INDvWI #WIvIND #INDvsWI #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/baJ0edNnKZ

— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) January 23, 2023

Got fever as soon as landed in SA, missed the first match, came in 2nd match in difficult situation… scored 56*(35) …like a boss

Kaptaan Kaur..❤️#INDvWI. pic.twitter.com/YhyVcaat7N

— Picasso (@6icasso) January 23, 2023