ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Deepti's bowling, Harmanpreet-Richa's alliance hands India 6-wicket win vs Windies
ICC Women's T20 World Cup: India hammered Windies by six wickets in its second Group B game in Cape Town on Wednesday, edging closer to the semis berth. Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh played assertive roles.
FollowTeam India was swansong as it pummelled Windies by six wickets in its second Group B encounter of the 2023 ICC Women's World Cup at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday. With this victory, the Indians have risen to the second place in the table and inched closer to the semis qualification, thanks to Deepti Sharma's bowling efforts, aided by Harmnapreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh's excellent batting skills.
Winning the toss, the Windies opted to bat and lost skipper Hayley Matthews (2) in the second over of the PowerPlay (PP) to medium-pacer Pooja Vastrakar, with just four runs on the board. However, openers Stafanie Taylor (42) and Shemaine Campbelle (30) added 73 for the second wicket, hardly allowing the Caribbeans to flutter.
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In the 14th, Campbelle fell to off-spinner Deepti Sharma, followed by Taylor a run later in the same over, thus opening the floodgates of the West Indian collapse, as the side could manage just 118/6. Deepti was the standout bowler for the Women in Blue with a three-for and was also very economical.
In reply, India was off to a nervous beginning, losing a couple for 35 by the fifth over of the PP and was down to 43/3 by the eighth. Then, the Harmanpreet-Richa pair took control and brought India back into the chase, tailoring a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
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In the 18th, skipper Harmanpreet departed. However, it was also too late for the Windies, as Richa struck the winning four to seal the six-wicket success. For the Caribbeans, off-spinner Karishma Ramharack grabbed a couple, while fellow off-spinner-cum-skipper Matthews was economical. The Indians are behind England regarding net-run-rate (NRR). They would be eyeing triumph in the next fixture against the English on Saturday at St George's Park in Gqeberha, which would virtually seal their place in the semis.
