Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet starred as India registered a massive 155-run victory against the West Indies on Saturday to bounce back from their defeat to hosts New Zealand at the ICC Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2022.
Mandhana and Harmanpreet scored memorable centuries to lead India to their second win in three matches. The Mithali Raj-led team had beaten Pakistan in their opener before going down to New Zealand.
While Harmanpreet hit 109 off 107 batting at No 5, it was Mandhana who was declared the player of the match after India’s win over West Indies for her 123 off 119 at the top of the order.
However, in a what was a classy gesture, Mandhana called Harmanpreet to the presentation ceremony and decided to share the award with her fellow centurion.
“She (Harmanpreet) is a very crucial part of our batting order,” said Mandhana in the post-match press conference.
“I’m really happy that she has come back (to form). She has been batting well since the practice games, so we’re really confident she’ll be able to continue scoring runs in this tournament. I’m really happy that she has got back-to-back fifty-plus scores. More importantly, today’s century will give her and the entire team a lot of confidence. We weren’t in a great position to start with but for her to come in from there and get us out of it was incredible.”
Riding on Mandhana and Harmanpreet’s brilliant knocks, India posted a formidable total of 317/8 after winning the toss and opting to bat first at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.
In reply, West Indies got a solid 100-run opening partnership thanks to Deandra Dottin (62) and Hayley Matthews (43).
But India fought back with the ball from thereon as Sneh Rana returned with three wickets while Meghna Singh picked up two. West Indies were bowled out for 162 in 40.3 overs and the result took India to the top of the points table thanks to a superior net run-rate.
Watch the presentation ceremony after India’s win against West Indies here.
Also read:
World Cup West Indies v India as it happened: Tons for Mandhana, Kaur; record for Goswami in big win
World Cup: Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana star as India defeat Windies by 155 runs
‘Big-match players’, ‘Outstanding’: Reactions to Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur’s World Cup tons
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