With the T20I series on line, India looks to make all-round amends against West Indies

Harmanpreet Kaur of India in action during the 1st ODI match between India (Women) and Australia (Women) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

India will look to make amends in all areas and counter the West Indies’ power game when the two teams face off in the decider of the Women’s T20I series on Thursday (December 19, 2024), with regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s participation still shrouded in uncertainty.

A comprehensive 49-run win in the series opener helped India extend their domination in the format to nine consecutive victories but West Indies crushed the hosts by nine wickets to level the terms in the second game. The manner in which West Indies cruised to win with 26 balls and nine wickets to spare, hitting a total of 27 fours and two sixes, the visitors left India scrambling for answers.

None of the Indian bowlers could pose any threat as heavy dew made their job only tougher. On their part, the West Indies used the conditions to their benefit. They sent the balls to the ropes more times rather than attempting to hit sixes which also worked in their favour.

The conditions aren’t expected to change much in a day’s time but India will be required to change a lot in terms of their collective batting and bowling, aside from concerns over the availability of Kaur.

Kaur didn’t take part in India’s fielding innings in the first match last Sunday (December 15, 2024) and missed the second on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) owing to a “niggle in her knee”.

Her unavailability for the series decider will certainly rob India of an in-form batter, for Kaur has struck two fifties in her last three T20I outings.

Stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana’s second fifty of the series gave India a platform to push on for a competitive total but the rest of the batters could not carry their form from the first game in which they had put a collective show.

A visible improvement in the West Indies’ tactics to bowl tighter lines and not give width made the batters’ job difficult but beyond Mandhana and Richa Ghosh (32), no one else could find their way through a phase where the ball was also losing pace off the surface.

In Kaur’s absence, the seniors Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma will have to shoulder extra responsibility in the middle order which featured debutant Raghvi Bisht at the number 4 slot in the second game.

India will also have to watch out for the all-round threat posed by West Indies veteran Deandra Dottin, who has made a strong impression on this series. The pair of Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph provide West Indies a lot of firepower at the top, which again will be a challenge for India to manage.

“It would mean a lot to the group if we were able to win this series. But we know in order to do that, we’ve got to come back and play just as good as we played today or even better. We know it’s not going to be easy work,” Matthews said after the second game.

Squads:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Nandini Kashyap, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Raghvi Bist, Renuka Thakur, Priya Mishra, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav.

West Indies: Hayley Matthews (c), Shemaine Campbelle (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Nerissa Crafton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Rashada Williams.

Match starts at 7:00 p.m. IST.