Mandhana ton, spinners deflate Windies
Thu, Jun 29, '17
Smriti Mandhana fell marginally short of a century on World Cup debut but made amends with a fine unbeaten 106 to script India's seven-wicket win over Windies in Taunton on Thursday (June 29). Continuing a dream return to the international fold, the opener combined with skipper Mithali Raj for a 103-run third-wicket stand, enroute her second ODI hundred that laid the platform for India's comfortable win. Even though Raj fell short of her eight consecutive fifty, Mandhana stayed on till the end to take India over the line with more than seven overs to spare.
India's reply though was not without initial hiccups. Shamilia Connell dealt an early blow as Punam Raut fell off the fifth ball of the chase, trying to pull a short one. Promoted to one-down, Deepti Sharma didn't look at the top of things from the word go and paid the price with her wicket shortly afterwards. Having consumed too many dots, the left-hander tried to take on Stafanie Taylor but failed to connect and the ball pegged back her middle stump.
