Hayley Matthews’ scintillating 85 not out overshadowed Smriti Mandhana’s classy 62 as West Indies women ended their nine-match losing streak against India, winning the second T20I here by nine wickets to level the three-match series 1-1 in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
After Mandhana’s 41-ball-knock and Richa Ghosh’s quickfire 32 off 17 balls took the hosts to 159/9, West Indies tore apart the Indian bowling attack in a ruthless display of power-hitting to record their biggest win in terms of wickets against India.
The sixth-ranked West Indies knocked off the 160-run target in a mere 15.4 overs to reach 160/1, recording their first win over world No 3 India after nine consecutive losses since November 2016. This was their ninth win in the shortest format in 24 meetings.
Matthews, who had earlier taken 2/36, led the demolition job with a brutal 47-ball 85 — which included a whopping 17 fours — while Qiana Joseph (38 off 22 balls, 6x4s, 2x6s) ad Shemaine Campbelle (25 not out) fired their shots too.
The series decider will now be played here at the DY Patil on Thursday. India won the first game by 49 runs.
It was Joseph who launched in the second over, hitting three fours and a six off Titas Sadhu to collect 18 runs and Matthews joined her partner with a flurry of fours as the West Indies brought up their 50 inside five overs.
With dew settling in fast, Indian bowlers could not make a mark with the new ball and the only chance in the powerplay went begging when Sajana Sajeevan dropped Joseph on 26.
Saima Thakor (1/28) eventually deceived Joseph in the seventh over taking the pace off the ball, with the left-hander miscuing one shot, safely collected by Richa Ghosh for the only breakthrough.
The dismissal brought a brief period of lull before Matthews hit a couple of fours off Radha Yadav and No 3 Shemaine Campbell hit three boundaries in a row off Sadhu to regain the momentum.
Matthews really took a liking to Yadhav as the 11th over saw the Windies skipper smashing four consecutive fours, producing a fine mix of powerful hits with precision in finding gaps. Thakor suffered a similar fate as the West Indies captain hammered three fours in a row in the 14th over to bring shut the doors completely on India.
Earlier, Mandhana’s second successive fifty and Richa Ghosh’s power-packed 32 ensured a par score.
Stand-in skipper Mandhana made the most of her three reprieves, notching up an attractive half-century laced with nine fours and a six to provide much-needed impetus at the top as wickets fell at the other end.
If Mandhana built the base, Ghosh played the finisher’s role to perfection with six fours in her 17-ball-knock which took India past the 150-run mark.
At one stage, it appeared tough given the failure of the other specialist batters.
Coming off a superb 73 in the series opener, Jemimah Rodrigues (13) hit a couple of fours but was trapped leg-before when she missed connecting with the ball trying to work it to the on side, falling to Matthews.
Debutant Raghvi Bisht failed to make a dent as she played across the line to be pinned in front of the wickets for only 5 off Afy Fletcher (2/28).
Deepti Sharma (17) only had herself to blame for her run-out, going for a non-existent run even as Ghosh kept asking her to return.
Deandra Dottin was the hero for the Windies for her spectacular fielding and for returning a measly 4-0-14-2, snaffling the wickets of Uma Chetry and Ghosh.
Dottin was also successful in not only saving a six with a perfectly-timed leap on the ropes but her effort resulted in a spectacular catch to dismiss Yadav (7), grabbing the ball in both hands while being parallel to the ground after covering a considerable distance from long-on.
In a red-hot form, Mandhana’s flourish was a delight to watch as she also made the most of multiple reprieves — three dropped catches in consecutive overs.
Having struck three fours off Ashmini Munisar in the 13th over which had one of those dropped chances, Mandhana’s stroke of the innings came when she pierced the in-field with a delicate drive through covers for four on the final ball to prove why she is a class apart.
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