Jemimah Rodrigues’ 49-run win against the West Indies in the first T20I gives India a rest at home. Cricket News

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Returning home in familiar circumstances after the ODI series defeat in Australia, Jemimah Rodriguez and Smriti Mandhana cruised to a comfortable win against the West Indies in the first T20I of the three-match series in Mumbai on Sunday.

During the pre-match media interaction, there were many questions about Harmanpreet Kaur’s selection and recent performances and the Indian skipper’s frustration was palpable. She deflected questions about player exclusions, admitted that mentality was an issue in not winning big games, and bemoaned the recent schedule of games.

The DY Patil Stadium, however, is a venue where many Indian players are comfortable. And it was clear from the beginning. Uma Chhetri impressed in a brief cameo as the opener and then Mandhana and Rodrigues put on a 44-ball 81-run stand for the second wicket. A target of 196 proved 49 runs too far for the West Indies, who were playing for the first time since reaching the semi-finals of this year’s T20 World Cup.

The result also marked the first time that the team batting first won a match in the 12th Women’s T20I at the DY Patil Stadium. Good batting has traditionally been easy to chase on a wicket, with the cold setting and Titas Sadhu’s 3-wicket lead as India’s bowlers largely executed their plan well despite ‘world boss’ Diandra Duttin threatening to chase down the target. the end

Invited to bat first, India got off to a good start with Mandhana and Chhetri hitting boundaries in the powerplay. The latter eventually slowed down and perished looking up at the former. However, Rodriguez was cashing in from the word go, using his sweeps and inside-out drives to make a big impact to register his fastest T20I fifty. India’s 195/4 was the third highest score in T20Is.

With Harmanpreet absent in the second half, Mandhana marshaled her bowlers well, taking wickets at regular intervals. The fielding effort was once again a mixed bag for India, as some sitters were also put down. The spin duo of Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav were impressive, keeping things tight for the most part and taking two wickets each. Duttin’s late fireworks, helped by some revivals, gave the West Indies a spark but the target always seemed out of their reach.

The second ODI match will be held on Tuesday at the same ground.

Short numbers: India 195/4 (Rodrigues 73, Mandhana 54; Ramharak 2/18) West Indies 146/7 (Dutin 52, Joseph 49, Sadhu 3/37) defeated by 49 runs

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