India Women won the third and final T20 match of the series against the West Indies by 48 runs at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, securing the series 2-1.
In the absence of regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana led Team India to victory.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews won the toss and opted to field first. India had a rough start when Smriti Mandhana’s opening partner, Uma Chetry, was dismissed for a duck.
However, Smriti, along with Jemimah Rodrigues, stabilized the innings with a solid partnership, taking India to 99 before Jemimah fell for 39 runs off 28 balls.
The highlight of India’s innings was the explosive performance by wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh. She smashed the fastest fifty by an Indian woman in T20 cricket, reaching 50 off just 18 balls.
She equals the world record held by New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield. Richa went on to score 54 off 31 balls, while Mandhana played a captain’s knock of 77 off 47 deliveries.
Raghvi Anand Singh Bisht contributed a valuable 31 runs as India posted a formidable total of 217/5 in their 20 overs, the highest score by the Indian women’s team in T20Is.
Chasing a daunting target of 218, the West Indies struggled early, losing opener Qiana Joseph for 11 to the bowling of Sajeevan Sajna. Despite a fighting knock of 43 off 16 balls by Chinelle Henry, none of the other batters could withstand the Indian bowling attack.
Off-spinner Radha Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 wickets for 29 runs. Renuka Singh, Sajeevan, Titas Sadhu, and Deepti Sharma chipped in with a wicket each, restricting West Indies to 169/8 in their 20 overs.
Smriti Mandhana was named Player of the Match for her brilliant 77 runs. While India won convincingly, areas needing improvement include their fielding, particularly catching, and the form of pace bowler Renuka Singh, who has room to improve in her fast bowling.
The focus now shifts to the three-match ODI series between India and West Indies, scheduled to begin on December 22, with subsequent matches on December 24 and 27, all in Vadodara.
