With no official streaming of the warm-up matches, unlike the Men’s T20 World Cup, it’s difficult to read too much into India’s win. (X/BCCI Women)
Head coach Amol Muzumdar and captain Harmanpreet Kaur had a little chuckle when they were asked about the No 3 position in the Indian batting order at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
“I think the top six are the best in the country,” Muzumdar said as if he was holding something back. “We have identified [the No 3] but we will reveal that only before the XI is announced. No 3 is a special position, the player sets the game up.”
It’s been a position where India have tried a few options in the build-up to the World Cup, but in the first official warm-up match before the marquee event, there was indeed an interesting development. It was Harmanpreet who batted at No 3. It is still early days to make a conclusion if this is the revelation that Muzumdar spoke about, but in the short term, it didn’t pan out as the skipper was out for 1.
Innings Break!
Half-century from @JemiRodrigues powers #TeamIndia to 141/8 👏
Second innings coming up shortly.
Scorecard – https://t.co/IwhrEmF3RI#T20WorldCup | #WomenInBlue pic.twitter.com/jmJqaRv3cB
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 29, 2024
Indeed, India’s batting was under pressure early on after losing openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana on either side of Harmanpreet’s dismissal. Then it was over to Jemimah Rodrigues – with a little bit of assistance from fit-again Yastika Bhatia – to take India to what proved to be a match-winning 141/8. In response, West Indies made 121/8 at the ICC Academy Ground No 2, Dubai on Sunday.
Asked to bat first by Hayley Matthews, India were reduced to 23/3 within the Powerplay. That was followed by a patient run-a-ball 50-run partnership between Yastika and Jemimah. While the former couldn’t kick on from there, Jemimah reached her half-century with a hat-trick of fours and finished with an impressive 40-ball 52. There were no other major contributions, but handy boundaries from Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil at the end pushed the total past 140. Matthews was the star with the ball, registering 4/17.
In response, the Windies needed Matthews to play a big role with the bat. But Renuka Singh Thakur got the star batter out bowled in the third over. West Indies too lost three wickets in the Powerplay, with Pooja Vastrakar continuing her impressive recent form, finishing with 3/20. West Indies also rallied with a middle-order partnership but Deepti’s double-wicket 14th over ended any hopes they had.
Victory by 20 runs in our first warm-up match 🙌
A fine bowling performance from #TeamIndia restricts West Indies to 121/8 in the 2nd innings 👏👏
Scorecard – https://t.co/IwhrEmFBHg
📸: ICC#T20WorldCup | #WomenInBlue pic.twitter.com/pxFJ1lN9it
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 29, 2024
With no official streaming of the warm-up matches, unlike the Men’s T20 World Cup, it’s difficult to read too much into India’s win. West Indies didn’t have Deandra Dottin batting for them either, but a 20-run win would still go down as a decent outing for Harmanpreet’s side. But the concerns, as they usually are, would be around the batting unit. Jemimah’s effort would be pleasing for the side as she is bound to play an important role in the middle order.
On Tuesday, they will take on 2023 runners-up South Africa in their second warm-up match, and India will look for more contributions from the rest of the line-up. And it would once again be worth keeping an eye on who takes up that ‘special’ No. 3 spot.
Brief scores: India 141/8 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 52; Hayley Matthews 4/17) beat West Indies 121/8 (Chinelle Henry 59; Pooja Vastrakar 3/20) by 20 runs
