After a mini-collapse — India were 78 for 3 inside 14 overs — Smriti Mandhana (123) and Harmanpreet Kaur (109) put together a record 184 runs for the fourth wicket. The twin centurions helped India post a mammoth total of 317 for 8. In reply, the West Indies imploded after a flying start and were bundled out for 162 runs.

Terrific win for the Indian girls. @mandhana_smriti and @ImHarmanpreet made batting look easy and the bowlers didn’t give West Indies a chance. The margin of victory will come in handy. Best wishes for the upcoming matches @BCCIWomen #IndvWI pic.twitter.com/xJ6XOPV2Yt

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 12, 2022

Dottin-Matthews counterattack

West Indies openers Deandra Dottin (62) and Hayley Matthews (43) kickstarted West Indies’ reply with a 100-run stand in just 12.1 overs. West Indies raced away to 50 in five overs. Deandra Dottin, battling a sore back, took on the attack on Indian seamers, and then the in-form Matthews took 21 runs off Jhulan Goswami’s third over. The assault forced Mithali Raj to bring on spinners.

Runs continued to flow as Dottin and Matthews, their match-winners in the last two games, sped to 100 in 12 overs. In her very first over, Sneh Rana got the wicket of Dottin, which triggered a collapse. West Indies lost their next nine wickets for just 62 runs.

The collapse

Rana (3/22), who started the slide, fittingly took the last wicket. Rana removed both the West Indian openers. Meghna Singh (2/27) choked West Indies in her second spell by taking the wickets of Kycia Knight and skipper Stafanie Taylor. Thereafter, wickets fell like nine pins.

Goswami returned to take the wicket of Anisa Mohammed, the 40th scalp of her World Cup career. The 39-year-old veteran now holds the record for the most wickets in the Women’s Cricket World Cup history, surpassing Australia’s Lynn Fullston’s tally of 39.

🚨 RECORD ALERT 🚨

Wicket No. 4⃣0⃣ in the WODI World Cups for @JhulanG10! 🔝 🙌

What a champion cricketer she has been for #TeamIndia ! 👏 👏 #CWC22 | #WIvIND

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/ZOIa3L288d pic.twitter.com/VIfnD8CnVR

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) March 12, 2022

Splendid start

India were criticised for their archaic batting approach in the powerplay against New Zealand. On Saturday, Yastika Bhatia gave India the perfect start after Mithali Raj opted to bat. The lanky southpaw was off the blocks, hitting three boundaries in the first over. The young opener pulled anything that was marginally short and dispatched it to the mid-wicket fence. She put on a 49-run stand with Mandhana in just 6.3 overs. Bhatia struck six boundaries during her 31-ball stay.

Mandhana heaped praise on her fellow opener, saying, “The positivity which Yastika started with gave me a lot of confidence. We lost three quick wickets so I had to hold back at first. The discussion in the team meeting was to score, keep the momentum high and Yastika did that brilliantly and gave us a 20-30 run cushion after we lost three wickets to settle in.”

The 184-run stand

India lost the wickets of Bhatia, captain Mithali Raj (5) and all-rounder Deepti Sharma (15) in the space of eight overs. Harmanpreet Kaur joined Mandhana and the duo steadied the innings. They dealt with ones and twos, and once their eyes were set, they upped the ante.

India beat West Indies on Saturday. (BCCI/Twitter)

Mandhana reached her fifth one-day international century from 108 balls with nine fours and two sixes. Mandhana reached the half-century mark in 66 balls, while her next fifty came in 43 balls. The left-handed opener picked up her first maximum in the 33rd over with a straight six down the ground off Selman. She smashed another six in the 37th over long-on off Aaliyah Alleyne. With the two batters scoring at a good pace, 200 was up in the 36th over. Mandhana reached her 90s with a boundary and got a life when she was dropped by Alleyne on 96, before reaching her century with another four off Matthews. Mandhana was dismissed in the 43rd over when she found Selman at deep mid-wicket, who took a stunning catch. This was Mandhana’s second World Cup century and interestingly, both have come against West Indies — today in Hamilton and the previous one in Taunton in 2017.

If Mandhana was elegant, Harmanpreet was more assertive. Fresh off her 71 against New Zealand, Harmanpreet Kaur posted her fourth century from 100 balls, hitting 10 fours and two sixes. It was Harmanpreet’s first century since her 171 not out in the 2017 Women’s World Cup semi-finals against Australia. Harmanpreet also scored her first back-to-back 50 plus score in the ODIs since the 2017 World Cup.

Harmanpreet, who has been struggling with her form for the past five years, has found her bat swing at the right time, and her batting form can be a big confidence boost for the Indian team.

Mandhana saved her best for the last. The Indian opener was adjudged player of the match and brought Harmanpreet Kaur along to share the award.

“Scoring a century and not being a player of the match is something I wouldn’t want. I think we both contributed equally for us to score 300. It is good to share the trophy,” said Mandhana at the post-match presentation.

When asked who gets to keep the trophy, Harmanpreet said: “I would love to give it to her because she scored more than me and she deserves that.” However, Mandhana didn’t agree with her senior pro and said: “I’m sure the ICC will be giving another trophy and I’m sure they have enough budget to do that.”

India will be up against defending champions England in their next match on March 16.

Brief Scores

India: 317 for 8 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 123, Harmanpreet Kaur 109; Anisa Mohammed 2/59, Aaliyah Alleyne 1/26)

West Indies: 162 all out in 40.3 overs (Deandra Dottin 62, Hayley Matthews 43; Sneh Rana 3/22, Meghna Singh 2/27)

BOX

Jhulan Goswami dismissed Anisa Mohammed to become the leading wicket-taker in World Cups with her 40th scalp. She surpassed Australia’s Lynn Fullston.

Mithali Raj (24) broke the record for most matches captained in the ICC Women’s World Cup, surpassing former Australian Belinda Clark (23).

The 184-run stand between Mandhana and Kaur is the highest partnership for India for any wicket. They broke the nine-year-old record set by Punam Raut and Thirush Kamini. Raut and Kanini were involved in a 175-run stand for the opening wicket against West Indies in Mumbai in 2013.

This was Mandhana’s second World Cup century and interestingly, both have come against West Indies — today in Hamilton and the previous one in Taunton in 2017.

Harmanpreet Kaur scored her first century in the ODI since her 171 not out in the 2017 World Cup semi-finals against Australia.