Mandhana ton deflates West Indies, India get second win
better.
“This team is a very closely knit unit and we all get along with each other really well. You won’t see anyone hanging out separately and things like that, we all mingle and hang out together.”
The fact that the home batsmen and bowlers have looked inept allows India to take it easy and be not too worried. Windies coach Stuart Law pointed out the other day that his charges are inexperienced and are looking to learn from this series.
However, despite things being easy, there are some personal battles being fought in the Indian camp. There are unlikely to be any changes in the India team, especially with even Ajinkya Rahane -- he scored a fifty and a hundred that won him the Manof-the-Match -- getting a chance to play only because Rohit Sharma has been rested. Shikhar Dhawan too had made his comeback only for the Champions Trophy, and Yuvraj Singh is trying to make a case for himself while spinner R Ashwin needs wickets.
So, despite India’s domination, there are contests to be won with spots at stake. Ensuring a healthy competition is perhaps doing the team a world of good. in against in against against against 24-05-2010 02-03-2014 05-03- 2014 13-06-2011
Riding on a strong batting display by opener Smriti Mandhana and skipper Mithali Raj, India sealed a comfortable seven-wicket victory over West Indies in a group match of the ICC Women’s World Cup at the County Ground here on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 184 runs, India achieved it with 45 balls remaining.
This is the second consecutive win for India in this tournament. They had defeated hosts and strong title contenders England by 35 runs on the opening day.
The West Indies, on the other hand, suffered back to back defeats. They had lost their opening tie to Australia.
The Indian run chase was spearheaded by Mandhana who batted through the innings, posting an unbeaten 106 runs. Her 108ball innings was studded with 13 boundaries and two sixes.
Raj posted a patient 46 off 88 balls with three hits to the fence.
The Indian innings was off to a poor start with West Indies pacer Shamilia Connell sending back opener Poonam Raut in the very first over. Deepti Sharma also did not last long as she was bowled by experienced off-spinner Stafanie Taylor. However, Mandhana and Raj got together to put up a 108run partnership to help India take the upper hand.
Raj was caught at mid-off as she failed to clear the circle off a delivery from West Indies offspinner Hayley Matthews. But Mona Meshram (18 not out) played a steady innings and gave good support to Mandhana to help India reach the target.
Earlier, a disciplined effort saw India restrict the West Indies to 183/8. Put in to bat, the Caribbean team got off to a slow start with opener Hayley Matthews (43) and Felicia Walters (9) putting on 29 runs but ran out of ideas once the spinners were employed by India skipper Mithali Raj.
The Indian spinners -- Poonam Yadav (2/19), Deepti Sharma (2/27), Harmanpreet Kaur (2/42) and Ekta Bisht (1/23) -- shared seven wickets among themselves to rattle the West Indian batting line-up. Indian wicket-keeper Sushma Verma also deserved due credit for the quick dismissals, as she effected as many as four stumpings during the innings.Opener Mathews looked in good touch during her 57-ball knock which was laced with seven boundaries.
While the middle order failed to provide any resistance to the slower bowlers, Shanel Daley (33) and Afy Fletcher (36 not out) chipped in with a 30-run partnership for the seventh wicket -- the highest for the West Indies women. With the Indian cricket board’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) deciding on the new coach, skipper Virat Kohli has made it clear he and the rest of the team will give suggestions only when they are asked and would not like to go beyond the brief.
The India skipper was asked on Thursday about the kind of coach he would prefer. However, Virat Kohli left the delivery alone, saying the onus is on the Indian board to make a choice.
“Contrary to popular perception, we as a team only voice our opinions when asked by the BCCI to give suggestions, so that is something we’ve always
HONOURS EVEN AT NORTH SOUND Contrary to popular perception, we as a team only voice our opinions when asked by the BCCI to give suggestions, so that is something we’ve always done, going through it as a process.