Mumbai : Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana's blitz knocks and Titas Sadhu's three-wicket haul helped India Women to beat West Indies by 49 runs in the first T20I match of the three-match series on Sunday.
The game was played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. With this scintillating win, Harmanpreet Kaur's side took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. West Indies won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Smriti Mandhana (54 runs from 33 balls, 7 fours and 2 sixes) and Uma Chetry (24 runs from 26 balls, 4 fours) opened for India Women and cemented a 50-run partnership which gave the host a kickstart in the game.
The Caribbean bowler Karishma Ramharack made the first breakthrough of the game when she removed Chetry from the crease in the seventh over.
Jemimah Rodrigues (73 runs from 35 balls, 9 fours and 2 sixes) played a blitzkrieg knock at a strike rate of 208.57. She made a partnership of 81 runs with Mandhana and propelled India to 195/4 in the first inning.
At the end of the first inning, Harmanpreet Kaur (13* runs from 11 balls, 1 four) and Sajeevan Sajana (1* run from 1 ball) stayed unbeaten on the crease in the first inning.
Karishma Ramharack was the star bowler for the Caribbeans even though they failed to pick early wickets. Deandra Dottin also bagged one wicket in her four-over spell.
During the run chase, Deandra Dottin (52 runs from 28 balls, 4 fours and 3 sixes) and Qiana Joseph (49 runs from 33 balls, 5 fours and 3 sixes) were the only star batters for the tourists. Dottin and Joseph played fiery knocks and tried to pull West Indies closer to the target, however, the Caribbean batting lineup gave up infront of the Indian bowling attack.
Shemaine Campbelle (13 runs from 13 balls, 2 fours) and Shabika Gajnabi (15 runs from 19 balls) tried to add a few crucial runs on the board but it was not enough to clinch a win for the Windies.
Gajnabi and Mandy Mangru (2 runs from 3 balls) were left unbeaten on the crease after they fell short of balls to achieve the target.
Titas Sadhu's three-wicket haul led the Indian bowling attack to restrict the Caribbeans at 146/7. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav bagged two wickets each in their respective spells on Sunday.
Jemimah Rodrigues was named the 'Player of the Match" following her stunning 73-run knock. India will take on West Indies in the second T20I match of the series on Tuesday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Brief score: India 195/4 (Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Smriti Mandhana 54; Karishma Ramharack 2/18) beat West Indies 146/7 (Deandra Dottin 52, Qiana Joseph 49; Titas Sadhu 3/37).