India 167/2 (Mandhana 74*, Harmanpreet 56*, Bruce 1-25) beat West Indies 111/4 (Campbell 47, Mathews 34*, Deepti 2-29) by 56 runs
West Indies gain early control
After being asked to bowl first, West Indies made a good first impression. Shanika Bruce, who made her international debut for Barbados at the Commonwealth Games last year, kept openers Yastika Bhatia and Mandhana calm, playing on her debut for the West Indies. He regularly beat Bhatia’s outside edge and conceded only two fours in his two overs in the powerplay.
From the opposite end, Shamiliya Connell, who was impressive against South Africa, barely conceded runs while bowling ten dots in her two overs. Overall, the West Indies bowled 21 dots in the phase and conceded only 37 – 12, one of which came from a Karishma Ramharak over in which Bhatia fell.
Mandhana, Harmanpreet changed the story
Harmanpreet was returning after missing the opening clash due to illness and found herself in the middle with Mandhana, with India lacking much pace. Mandhana scored 21 runs in 20 balls and scored 60 runs for 2 wickets at the score of ten overs.
Harmanpreet then signaled a gear change with a four off Mathews in the 11th over. India scored 28 runs in the three overs after drinks. She also used sweeps against the legspin of Effie Fletcher and delicate strokes against left-arm spinner Keshia Schultz.
The pair took 18 runs in the 18th over bowled by Connell, in which Mandhana and Harmanpreet hit two fours each. Harmanpreet also scored a half-century in the last over as India managed to score 50 runs in the last four overs.
Campbell, Mathews save West Indies from embarrassment
In India’s defense of 167, Deepti struck her first ball, lbw to Brittany Cooper with perfect offspin, where the ball beat Cooper on the inside edge and Williams was stumped in her next over. After injuring his ankle after the first innings, Mathews dropped down the order with the West Indies – opening with Cooper and Williams – sending Campbell and Gajnabi down to No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. When Gajnabi got out lbw in the seventh over, the script looked familiar.
But Campbell and Mathews then took the innings forward and changed gears after the tenth over when they were 39 for 3. While Campbell hit Devika Vaidya’s first ball of the 11th over, Mathews scored three more runs in the over. Both Campbell and Mathieu managed to find boundaries regularly, but the target was never really within sight. They added 71 runs for the fourth wicket and it ended when Amanjot Kaur took an excellent catch at deep midwicket after running to his left and diving to dismiss Campbell for 47.
Mathews managed to remain unbeaten, but West Indies were dismissed for 56. He will now have to win both his remaining games to stay in the final.
