India and West Indies played out a thriller for the ages on Friday in Antigua. The visitors were coasting in the first of three ODIs at one stage but Stafanie Taylor and five-star Anisa Mohammed’s brilliance saw the Windies snatch the contest by a run.
The match had it all: There were stunning catches, with the winner being Harmanpreet Kaur by a country mile; some classy batting from Stafanie Taylor; Priya Punia’s grit; rookie Shabika Gajnabi showing nerves of steel at a critical stage, and to top it, some top class spin bowling by Anisa Mohammed.
Many of the Indian viewers tuning in for the game on the Windies’ YouTube channel were left looking for alternate platforms to catch a glimpse of the contest. While the geo-blocked link on the West Indies’s channel was inaccessible, none of the other scoreboard platforms could track the action from Antigua either. The BCCI women Twitter handle, though, were conspicuous by their silence; there wasn’t a single score update during the match. It was a similar story with their website too.
There were two competitive teams in action, watched by a capacity crowd in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. There are ICC Women’s Championship points at stake here.
Irate viewers lambasted the people in charge of the broadcast. Here is how they reacted:
The match was scheduled to begin 20 minutes ago, but hey, no one seems to know what is happening! @windiescricket/ @windieswomen and @BCCIWomen - anyone home? An update or two wouldn't hurt, you know!#WIvIND #WIWvINDW
— Ananya Upendran (@a_upendran11) November 1, 2019
Wtf no live coverage shame on @BCCI and @SonyTV what if this was a mens match people would troll u like hell 😠 whats wrong with u people u promote womens sports and ruin it with ur hands I request @SGanguly99 plz look into this matter #INDwvWIw
— bunny (@Rajput283637) November 1, 2019
@BCCI Where is #INDvsWIwomen live? All that money! What the hell man. People are searching online to watch. Why don't you sponser yourself if no channel does? So much for women empowerment! lol.
— Mash (@manojshiva13) November 1, 2019
I feel sorry for them. @BCCIWomen @M_Raj03 @ImHarmanpreet#INDwvWIw#WIWvINDW
An ICC ODI Championship match, how less could all of @windiescricket/@windieswomen, @BCCI/@BCCIWomen or even @icc for that matter, be bothered. #WIvIND #WIWvINDW
— S. Sudarshanan (@Sudarshanan7) November 1, 2019
I have had high regards for CWI for their good work in live-streaming both domestic and international women’s games.
— Yash Lahoti (@YvLahoti) November 1, 2019
But this is unacceptable.#WIvIND
So, the match between India Women and West Indies women started, there is no big updates from BCCI handle and the streaming for the match which is available on West Indies You Tube is blocked for India. Great ♥️#INDWvWIW #cricket #womencricket #fuckoffbcci
— Krithika (@krithika0808) November 1, 2019
#WIvIND completely ridiculous...
— PONGOKUL (@gokulcool1984) November 1, 2019
Not telecast and no score updates @BCCIWomen @kartkyn