‘When Harmanpreet came out…’- Smriti Mandhana reveals what Indian skipper told her to do in 2nd T20I

The Indian women’s team registered their second win of the tri-series against West Indies as they won by 56 runs. A brilliant knock by the Player of the Match, Smriti Mandhana, saw the Indian team score 167/2 in their 20 overs. Smriti top-scored with 74 while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur scored 56 off 35 deliveries to help the Indian team register the win while restricting the opposition to 111/4.

Smriti in the post-match conference said that the team did not want to go hard on bowlers right from the start and could score more freely once the skipper Harmanpreet was at the crease. She also talked about the mistakes they made during the first match and learned how to play on that kind of pitch.

“I think the wicket was similar. But after the first game, we understood our mistakes and learned how to bat on that wicket. That's what we discussed; we did not want to go hard from the start and that's what the team asked me to do. When Harmanpreet came out we could score more freely and get that score.” Mandhana said in the post-match conference.

A brilliant all-round performance by India

Opted to bat first, The Indian batters struggled to get going against the new ball as they lost their first batter, Yashika Bhatia on the score of only 33 runs and only the arrival of Harmanpreet brought some impetus to the innings. She looked busy and also kept finding the boundary, Smriti too started to get into her groove, and once set, the pair unleashed and added an unbeaten 115-run stand.

India turned it around in the final 10 overs. West Indies had done well in the first of the innings but could not maintain the same discipline with the ball and in the field. They conceded 107 off the last 10 and allowed India to post an above-par total.

West Indies' chase started only after the 10-over mark and till then they were meandering along. Hayley Matthews, their skipper, and the best batter did not open and came out at number five which was a strange tactic considering they were chasing a big total. She, like her counterpart, gave the innings some impetus and started to stitch a partnership with Shemaine Campbelle. The pair showed more intent after the drinks break and added a 50+ stand but the slow start left them with too much to do as they lost the match by 72 runs. But they scored 72 runs in the last 10 overs and that's a positive they can take away.