Cape Town: Team India eased to a six-wicket win against West Indies at Newlands here to make it two wins from two in Group 2 at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh combined for a decisive partnership worth 73 runs to put India within touching distance of victory, while spinner Deepti Sharma made history in the game by taking 3/15 and becoming the first Indian to reach 100 wickets in T20 internationals, according to ICC.
And on a tough afternoon for West Indies, they suffered both a defeat and potentially the loss of two key players, with Stafanie Taylor taken from the field on a stretcher and captain Hayley Matthews also appearing to pick up an injury.
A lightning-fast start, inspired by the aggression of Shafali Verma, saw India rack up 41/2 in the Powerplay, putting them in control of a chase of 119.
Smriti Mandhana was the first wicket to fall, stumped off the bowling of Karishma Ramharack, and Jemimah Rodrigues joined her back in the pavilion after being sharply caught and bowled by Hayley Matthews
Verma’s onslaught came to an abrupt end when she was caught for 28 from 23 balls, leaving captain Kaur and Ghosh out in the middle with work still to do. And the game was paused for a lengthy and concerning treatment for West Indies veteran Stafanie Taylor, who appeared to suffer a recurrence of a back injury in the field.
A classy partnership between Kaur (33 from 42) and Ghosh (44* from 32) helped India ease to victory with time to spare, and West Indies suffered another blow late in the match when captain Matthews also appeared to pick up an injury – leaving West Indies facing the prospect of playing their remaining Group 2 matches without both of their star openers.
Earlier, India’s bowling attack, inspired by the record-making Sharma, curtailed West Indies after a strong second-wicket partnership had threatened to set up a big first-innings score at Newlands.
Deepti Sharma became the first India bowler to 100 T20I wickets, thanks to her incredible spell of 3/15 against West Indies.
IANS