[Watch] Meghna Singh dismisses West Indies skipper Stafanie Taylor with a beautiful out-swinger to put India ahead
Indian women's pacer Meghana Singh dismissed West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor(1) with a lovely out-swinger. By scalping Taylor's wicket in the 18th over, Meghana put her side ahead in the 10th league match of the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 between India and the West Indies.
You can watch the wicket-taking delivery below:
Earlier in the day, India batted first and put on a massive total of 317-8 in the first innings. Smriti Mandhana(123) and Harmanpreet Kaur(109) hit spectacular centuries to carry India to a high score after losing early wickets in the beginning. The dynamic duo stitched up 184 runs for the fourth wicket.
In the chase, Deandra Dottin (62 in 46 balls) and Hayley Matthews(43 in 36 balls) got West Indies off to a flying start with a 100-run opening partnership in just 12.2 overs. However, Sneh Rana(3/22) dismissed the openers in quick succession to bring India back into the game. The Windies then kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually lost the contest by 155 runs.
"The way Yastika played at the start gave me a lot of confidence" - Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana praised her opening partner Yastika Bhatia for her attacking intent in the powerplay and revealed that she gained confidence from that knock. The southpaw was also delighted to witness Indian vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur at her attacking best. Speaking to broadcasters during the innings break, Smriti Mandhana said:
The way Yastika played at the start gave me a lot of confidence. After we lost three wickets I had to put on a brake on the scoring pace. I was really happy with the way Harmanpreet played today as well. We did not get a good start in the last game. We discussed about it and wanted to rectify it. Momentum is very crucial and that's what Yastika did in the powerplay, taking on the bowlers from the start.
As for her own knock, Mandhana added:
"I would say this is among my top three knocks. After the last game, we really wanted to come back strong. Considering the pressure around this game, I would rate this knock a bit higher among my five ODI centuries."
India will now face the England women's team on March 16 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.