India-W demolish Windies as Renuka and Smriti star in Vadodara

It was a bombs-away offence launched by the Indian women as they vanquished the Windies in stunning fashion at Vadodara, securing a lead in the three-match ODI series from the first match. Winning the toss, West Indies opted to bowl and they were no match for the Indian batters as runs deluged for the Women in Blue in Vadodara.

Smriti Mandhana opened the innings with debutant Pratika Rawal and the duo were off to a flyer. They added 110 runs in the first 23 overs with Mandhana (91) spearheading the assault while Rawal (40) kept her company. Despite the fall of Rawal, the incoming Harleen Deol continued with the same momentum that was knitted together by the opening pair, in fact, switching a gear or two in the process.

Zaida James removed Smriti Mandhana for a phenomenal 91, hoping to put brakes to the Indian innings. However, a seasoned Harmanpreet Kaur who followed suit did put her foot down and kept the wheels rolling for Team India. Deol’s well-orchestrated 44 laced with Kaur’s feisty 34 propelled India to already glistening numbers.

Richa Ghosh (26) and Jemimah Rodrigues (31) came together for a quickfire partnership towards the end, ushering India towards the hallowed 300-figure mark. Despite a collapse to close things in a bid to get the runs faster, India posted 314/9 on the board at the end of their 50 overs. Zaida James was the pick of the lot for the Caribbean bowlers with figures of 5/45.

Chasing a mammoth number on the board, West Indies were jolted to a rude awakening. Renuka Singh’s twin strike laced with a brilliant fielding enterprise from Jemimah Rodrigues and a peach from Titash Sadhu reduced the Windies to 11/4. Despite a warring affair from Shemaine Campbell (21) and Afy Fletcher (24*), there was no turning back for the visitors.

Renuka Singh’s bedazzling brilliance saw her registering figures of 10-1-29-5 while she had support from Priya Mishra, Deepti Sharma and Titas Sadhu as India rolled West Indies up for 103 runs, chronicling one of the biggest victories in the history of WODIs as the margin read a stunning 211 runs. Renuka was also the Player of the Match for her electric performance with the ball, bagging a fifer to kickstart the proceedings in Vadodara.