With a dominant 56-run victory against the West Indies in the T20I Tri-Series in South Africa, India delivered an alarming warning ahead of next month’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
T20 World Cup Rivalry
Star hitters Smriti Mandhana (74*) and Harmanpreet Kaur (56*) contributed significantly to the Asian side’s score of 167/2, which was much too much for the Caribbean side in East London. Throughout their undefeated 115-run partnership, Mandhana and Kaur scored with ease, with Mandhana in particular reaching the boundary with ease and even clearing the rope off the bowling of Afy Fletcher in the last over of the session.
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West Indies needed an early start to have any chance of chasing down India’s massive total, but their ambitions were swiftly dashed as Deepti Sharma (2/29) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/16) combined to restrict Hayley Matthews’ side to 25/3 in the seventh over.
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Shemaine Campbelle (47) and Matthews (34*) worked hard to increase the scoring pace, but India’s bowlers kept things tight to ensure they were undefeated in the series after defeating South Africa in the opening match. India’s opening encounter at next month’s T20 World Cup is against Pakistan on February 13 in Cape Town, while the West Indies face England the day before in Paarl.
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