Tanuja Kanwar debuts as West Indies women bat first in 3rd ODI

After batting second in the first two games and losing them by huge margins, the West Indian women have decided to bat first in the last game of their tour of India.

India have handed left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar a debut, as pacer Saima Thakor has been rested for the third ODI, which is technically a dead rubber. India have already captured the three-match ODI series. 

Kanwar, who has already played for India in four T20I games, is an experienced campaigner who plays for Railways in the domestic circuit and is an integral part of the Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). 

However, apart from this one change, no other changes have been made in the Indian lineup, considering the lack of ODI games going into the ODI World Cup in India in the second half of 2025. 

Meanwhile, the West Indies, who have looked listless in the ODI series after flexing their muscles to an extent in the three T20I games, will look to put up an effective show with the bat. They would need someone whose name is not Hayley Matthews (a centurion from the last game) to rise up and play a long and impactful inning in the middle. It’s a lineup full of big hitters in Deandra Dottin, Qiana Joseph, etc, but they have failed to live up to their reputation in the 50-over format. 

The Windies have made three changes for this game, with allrounder Chinelle Henry coming in for Nerissa Crafton, Mandy Mangur for Rashida Williams, and off-spinner Ashwini Munisar for pacer Shamilia Connell. 

Playing XIs

India women: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Tanuja Kanwar, Titas Sadhu, Priya Mishra, Renuka Singh

West Indies women: Hayley Matthews (capt), Qiana Joseph, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Deandra Dottin, Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, Zaida James, Mandy Mangru, Afy Fletcher, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack

Pitch Report

The pitch used for the first ODI is in play again, and WV Raman reckons this could be full of runs. Given that this is a day game, it will be interesting to see how it plays.