There was a sense of new in Vadodara on Sunday. Brand new international stadium, a new ODI kit for India, and Harmanpreet Kaur starting the day by saying at the toss that she feels like a new player making her debut after missing out on the last two T20Is due to an injury. To go well with that setting, it was a refreshingly fresh display of positive cricket by India as they demolished West Indies by 212 runs in the first ODI at the Kotambi Stadium to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. In terms of margin of runs, this was India’s second-biggest win in women’s ODI history.
The most familiar aspect for India on the day was Smriti Mandhana continuing her stellar form, on a patch now deeply purple. She missed out on a record-extending fifth ODI century of the year by just 9 runs, but her 91 was the cornerstone of India’s innings after Hayley Matthews won yet another toss and opted to field first. But what would please India most is the contribution of the support cast around Mandhana, who has often been a solo act recently.
Debutant Pratika Rawal had luck firmly on her side but hung around long enough for a 69-ball 40 that resulted in a 110-run opening partnership. Then Harleen Deol (44 off 50) kicked on after yet another slow start. That was followed by breezy cameos by Harmanpreet (34 off 23), Richa Ghosh (26 off 12) and Jemimah Rodrigues (31 off 19) as India posted 314/9 in their 50 overs.
Dominating Win 💪 #TeamIndia complete a 211 runs victory over the West Indies in the first ODI 👌
Scoreboard ▶️ https://t.co/OtQoFnoAZu#INDvWI | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/WHTFt8qz8u
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 22, 2024
In reply, West Indies were off to a nightmare start and from the first ball onward, there seemed to be only one winner. Qiana Joseph might be developing into a fearsome power-hitter at the top of the order but her less-than-ideal technique while running between the wickets makes her a prime run-out candidate. And she was out for the rarely seen 0-ball 0, dismissed the first ball of the chase. India’s opening pace duo of Renuka Singh Thakur and Titas Sadhu then went about carefully dismantling the rest of the batting order, with WI reduced to 34/6 by the 13th over.
They eventually folded for 103, with Renuka leading the way with her first five-wicket haul in this format. The pacer, who was awarded player of the match, later revealed a conversation with Jhulan Goswami helped, where the retired legend told her the key to doing well in ODIs was to practice a lot of single-stump bowling in the nets.
Another highlight of India’s defence was a stunning catch by Harmanpreet at long on, as she leaped in the air to pluck a one-handed screamer with a perfectly-timed jump to dismiss Aaliyah Alleyne. No stranger to taking good catches, but Harmanpreet was especially pleased because a knee issue has been troubling her for a few months now and she later thanked the training staff for getting her back in shape.
Mandhana finds support
WI started with a clear plan against Mandhana like most teams do these days: keep chugging away at the outside off stump line, pack that side of the field, and see if she finds the fielder. She still managed to hit a couple of early boundaries. In the fourth over, bowled by captain Matthews, there was one loopy delivery in the driving range. As Mandhana reached out to drive, wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle was heard screaming on the stump mic “Stop that, stop that!” to the fielder at extra cover… and that was followed by an “aww!” as the ball perfectly bisected the small gap between two fielders and went for four. It was an early reminder of the form Mandhana has been in.
Her good early tempo wasn’t quite matched by the newcomer at the other end. Rawal’s debut could have ended on 1 in the 6th over, but WI didn’t review after a caught behind appeal. It was a struggle for Rawal to start her international career, starved of strike early on but also struggling to rotate when she got on strike. She was offered a reprieve when Afy Fletcher put down a sitter when she was on 3 at the end of 10 overs. But her fluency improved after the fielding restrictions relaxed. A short-arm jab past midwicket, and a couple of well-timed sweeps, helped her to a 40 that she could build on.
9⃣1⃣ Runs
1⃣0⃣2⃣ Balls
1⃣3⃣ FoursTalk about setting up a solid foundation!👌 👌
Relive Smriti Mandhana’s opening act 🎥 🔽 #TeamIndia | #INDvWI | @mandhana_smriti | @IDFCFIRSTBank https://t.co/ivBwkRxmlB
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 22, 2024
At the 30 over-mark, India were 154/1 and could treat the rest of the match as a T20 innings. Mandhana’s soft dismissal on 91 could have, on another day, pegged India back. Despite starting her innings with questionable intent once more, Deol shifted gears nicely while Harmanpreet – usually a slow starter – was off to a flier as well as the duo put on 66 off just 52 balls. A six each for them in the 39th and 40th over were arguably the shots of the day. When they fell in quick succession, Ghosh and Rodrigues didn’t slow down to consolidate but kept their foot on the gas. The lower order continues to be a concern, but that would be nitpicking on a day India easily crossed 300.
Brief scores: India 314/9 in 50 overs (Mandhana 91, Deol 44, James 5/45) beat West Indies 103 in 26.2 overs(Fletcher 24*, Campbelle 21, Renuka 5/29).
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