India-W make merry as RCB trio shines bright in Navi Mumbai against West Indies

It was a scintillating display from the Indian women as they routed the West Indies emphatically, thanks to a starry display from the RCB duo of Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh. It was an absolute roll from the Indian women as they rocked the Windies in the third T20I to clinch the series 2-1.

Winning the toss, West Indies-W opted to bowl first and they had the initial laugh with Chinelle Henry getting rid of Uma Chetry for a silver duck. However, Jemimah Rodrigues stepped into the center and took charge alongside a heavily firing Smriti Mandhana as India started making merry.

The duo added 98 runs for the second wicket before Afy Fletcher got the better of Jemimah (39). However, that did very little to dampen the spirits of India as Raghvi Bisht, RCB’s latest recruit, kept the scoring rate intact, assisting Smriti with her all-out assault. Mandhana fell for a 47-ball-77, welcoming Richa Ghosh into the mix.

With 32 balls to go, Ghosh took up the reins of rampage in her own hands and India stepped foot on the accelerator, hammering away at will. By the time Richa was done, she had amassed 54 from just 21 balls, clubbing three fours and five sixes. India posted a staggering total of 217/4 at the end of 20 overs as Raghvi Bisht stayed unbeaten for 31 from just 22 balls.

The Windes did get the start that they were looking forward to as Hayley Matthews (22) spearheaded the way. However, Qiana Joseph’s slow start at the other end compelled the visitors to go big and unfortunately for them, the move misfired. Sajeevan Sajana removed Joseph to open up the floodgates for Team India. From thereon, the Indian bowlers kept on chipping away at the West Indies wickets as they failed to get a steady stand amidst the chaos.

Despite Chinelle Henry’s tempestuous knock of 43 from just 16 balls, the Indian bowlers held onto their nerves and left the visitors asking for more. Radha Yadav emerged as the pick of the lot with figures of 4/29 while she had help from Renuka Singh, Sajeevan Sajana, Titas Sadhu and Deepti Sharma who claimed a wicket each while keeping things as economical as they could.

India registered a phenomenal 60-run win to walk away with the bragging rights of the series while Richa Ghosh won the Player of the Match award for her whirlwind half-century. Smriti Mandhana seized the Player of the Series award for her 193 runs across three innings.