Over the years, DY Patil Stadium has witnessed some of Smriti Mandhana’s iconic performances and when international cricket returned to the stadium after a break, she sang again.
Apart from his classic 54 (33b, 7×4, 2×6), Smriti created a crucial second-wicket partnership of 81 off 44 balls with Jemimah Rodrigues (73, 35b, 9×4, 2×6) which ultimately paved the way for India’s 49-run win over India Western in the first women’s T20I.
Having scored four centuries in the calendar year in the WODI competition, Smriti now touched upon her sixth half-century of the season in T20Is as India scored 195 for 4 – the third-highest score in the format – before restricting the visiting team to 146 for 7.
Sloppy fielding, dropped catches and erratic bowling let down the West Indies, who opted to bowl first, and the Indian batsmen made the most of the opportunity.
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While opener Uma Chetry was given some respite and made a few quick runs before falling to Karishma Ramharack, Smriti and Jemimah were unable to stop it.
As 29,000 spectators cheered, Smriti anchored the innings, allowing Jemimah to score at will. Jemimah hit a couple of boundaries in the leg side, leaving the West Indies bowlers searching for answers.
By the time Ramharack dismissed Smriti, India were already in control and Richa Ghosh’s 14-ball, 20-run performance meant there were no mishaps for the hosts.
When the dew came, the Indian bowlers had a difficult situation. However, young fast bowler Titas Sadhu (3 off 37) quickly made the breakthrough by dismissing skipper Hayley Matthews on the second ball of her opening over.
Shemaine Campbelle also succumbed to Deepti Sharma early on. But then there was a ray of hope for the West Indies when Deandra Dottin and Qiana Joseph created a 44-run partnership for the third wicket. After some respite, Dottin made a quick 52 off 28 balls while Joseph was devastated as he fell to Sadhu with one for his fifty.
When they left, the West Indies’ hopes were also dashed.
