MATCH STORY
Follow UsThe West Indies women’s lacklustre tour of India has finally come to an end. They have been clean-swept in the ODI series after losing the T20I series 1-2. The final scoreline of the series was the only thing to look forward to in the third ODI, which became a dead rubber after the Indian women dominated the first two games and won them by huge margins of 211 and 115 runs.
The visitors were floored in the third ODI right from the beginning itself, as Renuka Singh Thakur was on song yet again after picking 5/29 in the first ODI and 1/41 in the second. Here, she dismissed Qiana Joseph, Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin within the first five overs and finished with figures of 4/29.
After that, it was the Deepti Sharma show with the ball. The off-spinner from Agra, who plays for Bengal in the domestic circuit, picked 6/31—the second-best ODI bowling performance in her career. The Windies batters were dismissed for only 162, and the writing on the wall about their future in the game was writ large. However, there was a slight twist in the tale.
The Indian chase had a topsy-turvy start on a pitch that had some assistance for the new ball bowlers. Dottin and Aaliyah Alleyne were on their mark from the word go and troubled the openers along with Matthews.
While Mandhana (4) faced her first failure of the series, Pratika Rawal looked good for her 18 but was trapped by Matthews’ off-spin. Dottin dismissed the centurion from the last game, Harleen Deol, by getting her caught behind.
In that slightly nervy situation, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (32 off 22) and Jemimah Rodrigues (29 off 45) came together well, and along with Deepti (39* off 48) and Richa Ghosh (23* off 11) helped India reach the target in just 28.2 overs.
This was the Indian team's 11th clean sweep in the format, and as Rodrigues told Anjum Chopra after the game, it clearly meant a lot to them. “This win, especially a clean sweep, means a lot [to the team],” Rodrigues said.
“We have been having a lot of ups and downs. To come here and win again means a lot. We will take a lot of positives from here and get even better as we take on Ireland and then the WPL.”
The win in the third game today was slightly more satisfying for the Indian team, considering the match situation and the slightly tougher conditions to bat in.
“Batting was a little tricky, but glad we could get over the line,” Rodrigues added.
“There was a bit of hold [on the pitch] and a bit of tennis-ball bounce. The last match, it was a very good track. One thing I changed today, because wickets had fallen…I tried to play Matthews out (because she was bowling well) and then try for runs at the other end. Also tried to play back-foot square shots.”
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Rawal, who made her debut in the series, also expressed her elation at a clean sweep victory in her first international outing.
“It was a great feeling. We wanted to win 3-0 and very happy we were able to achieve it. My first series and I am very happy. I enjoyed it [batting], and it was coming nicely onto the bat [for her],” the Delhi batter said.
Deepti was the Player of the Match for her all-around performance, and Renuka was the Player of the Series for her 10 wickets.
