Hayley Matthews‘ unbeaten 85 overshadowed Smriti Mandhana‘s elegant 62 as West Indies women broke their nine-match losing streak against India. They won the second T20I by nine wickets in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday, leveling the three-match series 1-1.
Mandhana’s 41-ball 62 and Richa Ghosh’s rapid 32 off 17 balls propelled India to 159/9. West Indies then dismantled the Indian bowling attack with a dominant power-hitting display. This resulted in their largest victory in terms of wickets against India.
Ranked sixth, West Indies chased down the 160-run target in just 15.4 overs, reaching 160/1. This marked their first win over third-ranked India after nine consecutive losses since November 2016. It was also their ninth win in T20Is against India in 24 encounters.
Matthews, who also took 2/36 with the ball, led the charge with a blistering 47-ball 85. Her innings included an impressive 17 fours. Qiana Joseph (38 off 22) and Shemaine Campbelle (25 not out) also contributed significantly.
The series decider will take place at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. India had won the first match by 49 runs.
Joseph set the tone early, hitting three fours and a six off Titas Sadhu in the second over, accumulating 18 runs. Matthews joined the onslaught with a flurry of boundaries, bringing up the West Indies’ 50 within five overs.
With increasing dew, Indian bowlers struggled to grip the new ball. A dropped catch by Sajana Sajeevan, who missed Joseph on 26, compounded their woes during the powerplay.
Saima Thakor (1/28) finally provided the breakthrough in the seventh over. She dismissed Joseph with a slower ball, caught by Richa Ghosh.
This dismissal led to a brief lull in the West Indies’ scoring spree. However, Matthews quickly regained momentum with a couple of fours off Radha Yadav. Shemaine Campbell, batting at number three, then struck three consecutive boundaries off Sadhu to maintain the pressure.
Matthews particularly targeted Yadav in the 11th over, smashing four fours in a row. She displayed a combination of power and precision in finding the gaps. Thakor suffered a similar fate in the 14th over, conceding three consecutive boundaries to the West Indies captain. This effectively sealed India’s defeat.
Earlier, Mandhana’s second consecutive fifty and Ghosh’s powerful 32 helped India reach a competitive total.
Standing in as captain, Mandhana capitalised on three dropped catches. She scored an attractive half-century, studded with nine fours and a six, providing crucial momentum at the top of the order despite wickets falling at the other end.
While Mandhana laid the foundation, Ghosh played the finisher’s role to perfection. Her 17-ball knock included six fours and helped India cross the 150-run mark.
Reaching a substantial total had seemed challenging at one point, given the struggles of the other specialist batters.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who had scored 73 in the first match, managed only 13 runs before being trapped leg-before by Matthews. Debutant Raghvi Bisht was also dismissed early, bowled by Afy Fletcher (2/28) for just five.
Deepti Sharma (17) was run out after a miscommunication with Ghosh.
Deandra Dottin was a standout performer for the West Indies with her exceptional fielding and economical bowling figures of 4-0-14-2. She took the wickets of Uma Chetry and Ghosh.
Dottin also saved a six with a perfectly timed leap at the boundary. Moreover, she took a spectacular catch to dismiss Yadav (7), running a considerable distance from long-on and diving parallel to the ground to complete the catch.
