Published: Nov 22, 2016, 09:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 22, 2016, 09:11 AM (IST)
Hello and Welcome to Cricket Country’s coverage of the third and final T20 International (T20I) between India Women and West Indies Women at Vijayawada. West Indies Women have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead going into this match. While the West Indies Women will look to complete a clean sweep, the Indian eves will look to save their face by registering a consolatory win. India Women completed a whitewash in the One-Day International (ODI) series but West Indies Women have proved in the T20I series why they are the champions of the shortest format. They have been excellent in this series so far and will look to keep it up in the final game of the tour. IND vs WI, 3rd Women’s T20I Preview and Predictions: Hosts play for face-saving victory; Visitors eye whitewash
In the first T20I, India Women won the toss and decided to bat first. Veda Krishnamurthy and new T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur scored fifties to take India Women to 150 for 4 in their 20 overs. It was a stiff target, but West Indies Women skipper Stefanie Taylor scored 51-ball 90, which included 12 fours and three sixes to ensure that her team reached the target with six wickets and five balls to spare. India handed out T20I debuts to wisketkeeperNuzhat Parween and off-break bowler Preeti Bose. In the second T20I however, India Women decided to chase after winning the toss this time. West Indies Women put on a modest score of 137 for 5 in their 20 overs. India Women in reply were bundled for just 106with Harmanpreet once again top-scoring with 43. Other than Harmanpreet, only debutant Meghna Singh and Deepti Sharma got into double figures. Deandra Dottin and Anisa Mohammed picked up thrr wickets apiece to ensure that West Indies Women won by a big margin.
It will be huge test of character for the new Indian skipper and the Indian team ahead of the Asia Cup T20, which will be played from November 27 in Thailand. India Women will look to win this match and have some momentum going into the tournament. Regardless of what happens in this match, West Indies Women will start the tournament as favourites.
India’s top-order batting, especially the openers, are consistently underperforming and this is not healthy for the team’s growth. Smriti Mandhana, one of team’s most experienced batters, is struggling with her form and that is evidently affecting team’s performance with the bat, bring down a lot of pressure on the middle-order batters, cramping their time for settling down and putting them under the pressure to score runs.
The bowling has also been disappointing. Without Jhulan Goswami by the side, the bowling looks out of any certain plan. The haphazard attacks and scalps fail to affect the opponent batters which result in a challenging total. Jhulan, on the other hand, has failed to pick up wickets consistently which is also another problem for the Indian side. They also missed Rajeshwari Gayakwad and her outstanding performance that she pulled off during the ODI series.
Teams:
India Women: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jhulan Goswami, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Deepti Sharma, Vellaswamy Vanitha, Anuja Patil, Preeti Bose, Meghna Singh
West Indies Women: Stafanie Taylor (c), Anisa Mohammed, Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt
