It’s a long way to the top for the Indian ladies. A one-run defeat against a rather sedate Windies line-up gave the Women in blue a stern reality check. Anisa Mohammad conjured a magical spell picking 5/46, her 6th in ODIs & Stafanie Taylor’s 94 off 91 & 2/30 earned her the player of the match.
For the majority of the game, 89.2 overs to be precise, the Indian ladies were front-runners. Then, the wickets started to tumble. From 2/170 the Mithali Raj led team crumbled down to 224. Complacency? One might wonder. You can certainly make a case for a rational prognosis but that’s the work of the foolhardy.
TEAM NEWS
Priya Puniya’s composed 75 off 107 might come as a considerate headache for the Indian selectors. Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, did make a strong case for a comeback but the left-hander’s inclusion is still uncertain. The team is likely to remain unchanged.
Windies are likely to make a couple of changes. Debutant Shawnisha Hector who didn’t have the best outing in her debut ODI will be inspected & Chinelle Henry who suffered a concussion in the 1st ODI is likely to miss out. Shabika Gajnabi will make it to the starting XI.
MATCH DETAILS
When: 3rd November 2019, Sunday
Where: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
Kick-Off Time: 11:00 PM, IST
PITCH CONDITIONS
The turf got slower as the game progressed in the 1st ODI & the pattern is likely to follow for the 2nd. Batsmen have fared well against the pacers as far as scoring rate is concerned. The spinners operate at 4.7 runs/over while the pacers concede 5.1. Average 1st innings score at this venue - 235 & the average 2nd innings score - 208. Teams batting first have won 10 out of the 17 games. The team winning the toss will most likely bat first.
Highest score at this venue: 322/6
CAPTAINCY PICK
In the 1st ODI where the scoring rate was measured, Stafanie Taylor paced her innings to perfection & accelerated at will. She struck 8 fours, 2 sixes at a strike-rate of 103.3 when run-making was a strenuous task. Taylor has been a part of 61 wins for the Windies women & averages 65.8. Her strike-rate goes up to 74.2, 8 more than her aggregate. The all-rounder also finished with figures of 2/30, the most economical figures in the game. The two teams lock horns at the same venue & Taylor with her all-around prowess will be the player to watch out. Yet again.
X-FACTORS
Anisa Mohammed now holds the record for the most 5-fors in WODIs. During her sixth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket, Mohammed also passed 150 wickets for the West Indies women. With 9 to defend off the last over & with two wickets in hand, Anisa restricted the visitors off the very last delivery. The off-spinner hadn’t picked a wicket in her last 5 international outings & her effort in the 1st ODI might just spur her team for the remaining fixtures. Of her total tally of 151 ODI wickets, 115 have been that of right-handers & 98 of them from the top order (1-5 batting positions)
Jemimah Rodrigues is only 14 internationals old but she’s assuredly one for the future. Technique, power & a brilliant cricketing mind. Jemimah has got it all. The 41 she scored in the first ODI wasn’t the swiftest but the right-hander seems to have made the opening slot her own. Of all the Indian batters who’ve scored more than 200 runs since 2018, Jemimah’s run-scoring rate, 74.20, is the 2nd best. Only Smriti Mandhana scores at a brisker pace. At 90.87.
FANTASY XI
Shemaine Campbell, Jemimah Rodrigues(vc), Mithali Raj, Chedean Nation, Stafanie Taylor(c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Stacy-Ann King, Anisa Mohammad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht