INDIA'S women’s cricket team romped to a 3-0 series sweep against the West Indies after getting a convincing five-wicket win in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Kotambi International Cricket Stadium in Vadodara on December 27.
After electing to bat first, the West Indies had the worst possible start when opening batter Qiana Joseph was dismissed with the very first ball of the match by Renuka Singh (four for 29), with captain Hayley Matthews (duck) also being dismissed in the over.
Matthews was a shining light for the West Indies with a century in the second ODI, but she couldn’t shoulder the batting responsibility this time.
The regional women slipped into further trouble in the fifth over when Singh bowled Deandra Dottin (five) as the visitors slid to nine for three.
In vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle (46 off 62 balls) and allrounder Chinelle Henry (61 off 72), the Windies found some respite with a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket before the former became the first of Deepti Sharma’s scalps when she was dismissed in the 22nd over.
Player of the Match Sharma (six for 31) then accounted for Zaida James (one) and Henry, who notched her highest score in the format. Sharma grabbed her third five-wicket haul in ODIs, and tore the Windies lower order apart as the visitors were bowled out for just 162 – losing their last five wickets for 21 runs.
Chasing a consolation win, the Windies did have early success as the prolific Smriti Mandhana (four) and second-match centurion Harleen Deol (one) were sent back cheaply by the pair of Aaliyah Alleyne (one for 28) and Dottin (one for 27).
India lost their third wicket when Pratika Rawal was dismissed by Matthews for 18, with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (32 off 22) being bowled by Afy Fletcher in the 13th over as the hosts slipped to 73 for four.
Sharma (39 not out off 48) denied the Windies any further momentum, though, as she shared in a 56-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues (29), before sealing the game with an unbeaten stand of 38 with the aggressive Richa Ghosh (23 not out off 11). Ghosh finished off the game with back-to-back sixes off Fletcher as the hosts sped to 167 for five with over 20 overs to spare.
Summarised Scores:
WEST INDIES 162 (38.5 overs) (Chinelle Henry 61, Shemaine Campbelle 46, Aaliyah Alleyne 21; Deepti Sharma 6/31, Renuka Singh 4/29) vs INDIA 167/5 (28.2 overs) (D Sharma 39 not out, Harmanpreet Kaur 32, Jemimah Rodrigues 29; Deandra Dottin 1/27. India won by five wickets.
The post India women crush Windies in final ODI to get series sweep appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
