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Deepti Sharma's three-wicket haul followed by Jemimah Rodrigues' unbeaten gritty 42 powered India to an 8-wicket win over West Indies in the ongoing Women's T20I Tri-Series here at Buffalo Park in East London on Monday.
Rodrigues scored the highest for India with an unbeaten 42 off 39 deliveries while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur played a knock of 32 runs in 23 deliveries. For West Indies, Shamilia Connell and Hayley Matthews bagged one wicket respectively. Chasing a target of 95, India got off to a bad start as they lost their opener openers Smriti Mandhana in the second over of the innings. Mandhana was removed by right-arm faster Shamilia Connell after scoring 5 runs. The right-handed batter Harleen Deol then came out to bat. Opener Jemimah Rodrigues then opened her hands and hammered Jannillea Glasgow for two stunning fours. Rodrigues played with aggression while Harleen Deol kept taking singles cautiously at regular intervals. After 5 over India's score read 35/1. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews delivered a stunning over, conceding just one run while putting pressure on India batter to play careless shots. Harleen fell prey to Matthews, as she came down the track and did not receive the elevation to clear mid-off, finding the fielder who reverse-cups with ease. Harleen went back into the hut after playing a knock of 13 off 16 deliveries. Harleen's wicket invited India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who opened her account with a stunning four off Matthews' delivery. In the 13th over of the innings, the duo of Harmanpreet and Rodrigues slammed Zaida James for 12 runs. In the 14th over, India just needed 6 runs to win and Indian batters Harmanpreet and Rodrigues chased down the target way too easily with 37 balls remaining. Earlier, opted to field first, India got off to a fiery start as their bowler Deepti Sharma struck twice in the fourth over of the same to rattle West Indies' top batting order. Deepti removed opener Rashada Williams for 8 while sending Shemaine Campbelle packing for zero. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews put up a fight against Indian bowlers for beautiful boundaries. In the 9th over of the game, West Indies lost their third wicket as Djenaba Joseph went back to the pavilion after scoring 3 runs in Rajeshwari Gayakwad's over. Matthews could not hold longer on the crease as she was removed by Pooja Vastrakar after scoring 34 runs off 34 deliveries. Deepti then claimed her third wicket of the match, dismissing Shabika Gajnabi for 12 runs. Vastrakar then in the penultimate ball of the innings dismissed Aaliyah Alleyne to restrict West Indies to just 94 in their innings. Brief score: West Indies 94 (Hayley Matthews 34, Zaida James*; Deepti Sharma 3-11) vs India Jemimah Rodrigues 42*, Harmanpreet Kaur 32*; Hayley Matthews 1-7). (ANI)
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