With the series on the line, Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh produced high-purpose performances with blistering fifties in Mumbai. It was a record-breaking night for India as they beat the West Indies by 60 runs in the T20I series decider in Navi Mumbai on Thursday night. First, Mandhana broke the record for most 50-plus scores in women’s T20Is. Once he got out, Ghosh came in and scored a fifty off 18 balls, the joint fastest in the format. And those two strikes took India to 217/4, their highest ever in a Women’s T20I.
Hayley Mathews won the toss for the third time in a row and had no hesitation in bowling first, with the chill factor at the DY Patil Stadium making it a favorable place to chase. Chinel Henry’s first over saw the ball spin significantly and he also took the wicket of Uma Chhetri who was dismissed for nil. India paid the price for not getting off to a good start in the second game of the series but stand-in captain Mandhana found her feet soon.
Mandhana delivered a boundary offside in the second over but his onslaught began in the third. First, he took Chinel Henry by hitting three consecutive fours. She then hit seven boundaries on the trot, scoring 4, 6, 4, 4 after returning to strike in Diandra Duttin’s over. It was the beginning of a dream for Mandhana and India.
At the other end, Jemimah Rodrigues took her time to set but hit three fours off Karishma Ramharak’s over to help India finish the powerplay strong (61/1). What was fascinating about India’s batting was that it was not just Mandhana’s show. After Rodrigues fell for a busy 39, newcomer Raghavi Bisht wasted no time in getting ahead, hitting her maiden international six off the 6th ball she faced.
Mandhana added another feather to her cap in what turned out to be her personal best year. Her third consecutive half-century in the series was the 30th of her career and takes her past New Zealand legend Suzy Bates, who has 28 fifties and one century in the format. The left-hander achieved a historic milestone by scoring a 27-ball fifty in four overs at midwicket. His maiden century in this format looked imminent until he was dismissed at mid-off by lofting Duttin to the fielder.
60-run victory in the third and final T20I! 🥳#TeamIndia Win in decisive style and win the series 2⃣-1⃣ 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Fuqs85UJ9W#INDvWI | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/SOPTWMPB3E
– BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 19, 2024
But Ghosh came in the 15th over and continuing the trend till then, it didn’t take long to score. She hit Duttin straight for a six off the first ball, followed by a square cut for four that set the tone for what was to follow. However, West Indies gave him a big reprieve in the next over, with Duttin and Henry getting in each other’s way at deep midwicket and it proved too costly. Ghosh could actually have scored the fastest 50 but failed to connect well with the short balls as she scored 44 off 16 balls. But on the first ball of the last over, she hit a six over midwicket to reach the record-equaling milestone. And once she fell, Sajna Sajivan came in to hit a boundary off the first ball to take India to their best score in this format. “First ball or last ball, if it’s in my slot, I want to play big shots,” Ghosh said after the match.
The target of 218 was going to be daunting but WI showed last year that they could achieve it, when they pulled off a win in Australia. Much depended on Mathews and Duttin, and India were able to get both out in the 20s after opening.
“The way Raghavi batted was impressive, he got out with a lot of intent,” Mandhana said. “Just playing the second game and hitting a six off the fourth or fifth ball… I think I couldn’t have done that in my second game. Then I think the way Richa took that responsibility was fantastic. Even in the last game I think her innings was really amazing but we We couldn’t appreciate that we didn’t win the game. But today, I was telling him he didn’t know what to eat.
With this victory, India won the T20 series at home for the first time in 5 years. As Mandhana said, it was something that motivated the team. “When I saw that statistic, it didn’t reflect the kind of cricket we played, so that was the chat in the morning… that today we have an opportunity to change that, really happy you know that we are’. I have won this series.”
A record breaking night
217/4: Highest total for India in WT20I
18 balls: Fastest T20I fifty by Indian women and joint-fastest overall
30: Smriti Mandhana surpasses Suzy Bates as the highest scorer of fifty in women’s T20I.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package