T20 World Cup, IND vs WI as it happened: Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh star in India’s win

That will be all for this blog, India take on England next in a potential blockbuster on Friday to see who tops this group. Massive one, that.

Match summary:

TOSS: Hayley Matthews opts to bat

First innings: Windies score 118/6, Deepti Sharma picks up 3/15 (and becomes first Indian bowler to reach 100 wickets).

Second innings: India score 119/4 (18.1), Richa Ghosh unbeaten on 44 off 32 balls. 

Player of the match: Deepti Sharma, 3/15.

India 119/4 (18.1 overs): It is two wins out of two for India. Could have perhaps chased this down quicker but NRR unlikely to play a big factor in this group as it looks like at the moment so may be not a big deal. Richa Ghosh unbeaten in another run-chase.

WICKET! 17.5: Harmanpreet Kaur 33(42) ct Shemaine Campbelle b Chinelle Henry Harmanpreet falls just short of the finish line. Two short balls that surprised the Indian captain for bounce and then the fuller ball induces the false shot. India 115/4

Oh dear, now Matthews is walking off the field. WI simply cannot afford to lose her.

India 115/3 (17 overs): Not quite sure why West Indies decided ‘yeah, let’s keep feeding short of length to Richa Ghosh’ after seeing her bat in recent times. A truly magnificent shot in that over as she rocks back and lofts one over cover.

India 105/3 (16 overs): Another short-ball to Richa Ghosh doesn’t work. A superb one-legged pull shot that she often plays well. Four. India close to another win.

India 98/3 (15 overs): And that’s the end of a good bowling outing for Hayley Matthews but the scoreboard keeps ticking for India.

India 92/3 (14 overs): Afy Fletcher with another expensive over, Harmanpreet finding the boundary past square leg. India need 27 off 36 balls.

India 84/3 (13 overs): A steady over for India.

India 79/3 (12 overs): A barrage of short balls in that Connell over but both Harman and Richa handle it well, with the latter playing a nice pull shot for four. On cue, Mithali speaks about how the young WK batter enjoys any situation she is put in.

India 70/3 (11 overs): A no ball by Selman but Ghosh misses out on the free-hit in that over. Still par for India. 49 needed off 54 balls.

Selman next up with her pace.

Here’s a quick plug for our main feature of the day:

India 64/3 (10 overs): A par over for India as we head into the mid-innings break.

India 60/3 (9 overs): Afy Fletcher in with her leg-spin. Good over for India here. 2, 2, and 3 for Richa Ghosh and then a terrific cover drive by Harmanpreet Kaur for four. And then a terrific lofted shot in the same region. Huge over for India who are halfway to their target.

Stafanie Talyor spoke in the mid-match interview how she was feeling good again today in the middle. This must be gut-wrenching for the former captain. She has now been stretchered off the field and play will resume after a break.

WICKET! 7.1: Shafali Verma 28(23) ct Afy Fletcher b Karishma Ramharack Oh, things are getting interesting here. Shafali knows only one way to bat and she goes for a big shot, but is caught at deep square leg. India 43/3

India 43/2 (7 overs): WI conceded 28 runs in the first 2 overs, Hayley Matthews has since conceded 6 runs in her three overs.

Correction: Previous update was the end of powerplay at 41/2.

India 41/2 (6 overs): Terrific lofted shot past midwicket by Shafali for four as India just steady things now.

WICKET! 4.5: Jemimah Rodrigues 1(5) ct & b Hayley Matthews A Mumbaikar dismissed by a Mumbai Indians player. Rodrigues goes for a shot down the ground but no elevation. That was a sharp catch by the Windies catain. India 35/2

India 34/1 (4 overs): The spinners are putting the brakes on. Good over from Ramharack.

WICKET! 3.3: Smriti Mandhana 10(7) st Rashada Williams b Karishma Ramharack Mandhana loves a good run-chase but not to be today. Comes down the track and is beaten. India 32/1

India 31/0 (3 overs): Tidy over from Hayley Matthews who brings herself on to take some pace off.

India 28/0 (2 overs): Three more boundaries in the second over as India are off to a flier! One streaky inside edge for Shafali, one streaky outside edge for Mandhana who then delightfully pushes one through cover. Trademark.

India 14/0 (1 over): Three boundaries in the first over for Shafali, two cut shots square of the wicket and then a streaky one over slip as Connell offers width. The pacer finishes the over with two peaches, beating Shafali’s bat.

India restrict West Indies to 118/6: Deepti Sharma was the standout bowler with excellent figures of 3/15. A day to remember for her. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co will back themselves to chase this down.

WICKET! 19.2: Afy Fletcher 0(1) b Deepti Sharma There’s the century for Deepti Sharma, the first Indian bowler, male or female, to reach the 100 wicket milestone in this format. West Indies 115/6

WICKET! 18.6: Shabika Gajnabi 15(13) b Renuka Singh Gajnabi’s decent cameo comes to an end as Thakur strikes with the last ball of her day. You-miss-I-hit stuff, as the batter went for a cross-bat swipe. West Indies 114/5

Renuka to bowl the 19th. Presumably Deepti will bowl the 20th again

WI 107/4 (18 overs): A good yorker, followed up by a good short ball, and then off-pace. Nice death bowling this by Vastrkar. Good start to the over, but an inside edge for four off the last ball spoils an otherwise terrific set of six balls.

WI 100/4 (17 overs): An expensive over from Vaidya, with two fours, one each for Gajnabi and Nation.

WI 88/4 (16 overs): And really, there should have been another WI wicket in that over too. A runout chance is missed by Richa Ghosh not cleanly gathering a throw and then Deepti drops one at long off. Gayakwad hasn’t had the best of days but got unlucky there. Finishes with 0/30.

WICKET! 14.2: Chinelle Henry 2(4) Run Out Smriti Mandhana Oh dear, that is a disappointment for WI. Henry drops the bat for the dive and the bails have been removed. West Indies 79/4

WICKET! 13.6: Stafanie Taylor 42(40) lbw Deepti Sharma And the century is in sight! Deepti Sharma goes to 99, picking up both the set batters in one over. Great review it must be said, looked not out in real time but DRS says otherwise. West Indies 78/3

WICKET! 13.3: Shemaine Campbelle 30(36) ct Smriti Mandhana b Deepti Sharma A much-needed breakthrough for India and Deepti, of course, provides that. Campbelle loves to sweep but the reverse option ends her stay. Smriti Mandhana gets down low to complete a catch and it’s nearly a one-hander as the injured left-hand just goes aside at the end. I imagine she is still hurting, but that’s a solid take. West Indies 77/2

WI 75/1 (13 overs): And the partnership continues to build as Vastrakar comes back, Campbelle hits a four down the ground. Great insight from Ian Bishop in that over on how Vastrakar seems to be losing impetus after a good run-up.

WI 66/1 (12 overs): Another lofted shot through the offside for Taylor in this Gayakwad over but not quite convincing, still effective enough for four. Gayakwad comes back better to make better use of the pitch through the over, dragging the length back.

WI 59/1 (11 overs): Delightful shot over cover from Taylor for a four off Renuka.

Wagon wheel: Hope this is a case of India’s bowers working their way up into the tournament because otherwise, the 30 overs so far haven’t been that confidence-inducing, ahead of facing strong batting units.

WI 53/1 (10 overs): Another freebie on Taylor’s pads, another sweep for four. But otherwise a good over from Gayakwad. A better over than the last one from her but WI have quietly rebuilt after losing their main batter.

WI 48/1 (9 overs): Taylor hasn’t played against India in five years in this format but her last few scores have been all very handy. She is in good touch here. Another four in that Radha over.

WI 40/1 (8 overs): I don’t quite understand the point of leaving the sweep shot so open for an offspinner who likes to turn the ball sharply and bowl tight lines. A really good over spoiled by one sweep for four by Taylor.

WI 34/1 (7 overs): An over for Shafali and Mithali Raj on air doesn’t understand the move when there is also Radha Yadav and Devika Vaidya available for spin. WI keep scoreboard ticking, 5 runs in that over.

WI 29/1 (6 overs): A really good first over from Deepti, bowling with great control. Four dot balls and two singles. Got some sharp turn one delivery. Apart from the one poor over, a good powerplay for India.

Nasser Hussain on comms and says Indian bowler haven’t quite controlled the breeze so far.

WI 27/1 (5 overs): A poor over from Gayakwad, bowling two freebies on Campbelle and Taylor’s pads with no protection there for the sweep. Two fours.

WI 15/1 (4 overs): Another risky single in that over that could have been a run out if the stumps were hit. Four overs of pace to start with by India and now Gayakwad comes in.

WI 10/1 (3 overs): A four for Campbelle as she puts a short ball away but otherwise another good over from Renuka. Nearly a run out in that over.

WI 4/1 (2 overs): Vastrakar starts off with a wicket maiden.

WICKET! 1.1: Hayley Matthews 2(6) ct Richa Ghosh b Pooja Vastrakar HUGE WICKET. Not a very common sight to see India start with two overs of pace but Pooja Vastrakar gets the 2nd over and strikes immediately. Got good bounce vs PAK too, and it’s bounce that undoes Hayley Matthews as well. West Indies 4/1

WI 4/0 (1 over): Good tidy over from Renuka to start off, a wide early on but some movement there on offer for her as usual.

Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews opening the batting again. Taylor struggled against England to get going but she is of course capable of turning it on. Matthews, however, is the key. India need her early. Renuka Singh Thakur to get us going.

National anthems time

• West Indies were convincingly overpowered by England in their opening match. Their losing streak has now extended to 14 women’s T20Is. Another stern test awaits them against a formidable Indian side but they will be eager to make amends and get back to winning ways. 
•  India, on the other hand, squeezed past Pakistan by seven wickets to open their account with a morale-boosting win. They have an excellent head-to-head record against West Indies in recent times, having won all of the last seven women’s T20Is. 
  
• They meet for the third time in the tournament history. Their last meeting was in the 2016 edition at Mohali where West Indies emerged victorious in a tense game by three runs

— Sportradar

Team news: Harmanpreet Kaur’s love-hate relationship with tosses continue. Goes 0/2 in the tournament. But with Smriti Mandhana back in the XI, chasing not a bad thing she adds. Here’s a look at India’s XI, with another change being Devika Vaidya’s return. Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol make way.

India XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, (wk) Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh

West Indies XI: Hayley Matthews (c), Stafanie Taylor , Shemaine Campbelle, Rashada Williams (wk), Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Afy Fletcher, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell, Karishma Ramharack

First important piece of news from the toss, Smriti Mandhana is back for India. Full team news to follow.

Toss: West Indies opt to bat first, India wanted to bat first too.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup where India continue their campaign with a contest against West Indies.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Co navigated a tricky run-chase against Pakistan to begin their campaign with a win. Today they take on one of their favourite opponents in recent times, a struggling West Indies side. On paper, India start as favourites but the West Indies have some match-winners too and in T20 you never quite know.

T20 World Cup: Under pressure, Jemimah Rodrigues repays the faith on grand stage

Screenshots in the blog courtesy: Disney+Hotstar and ICC match center

Statistics courtesy ESPNCricinfo Statsguru and Sportsradar via ICC