At the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, Harleen Deol, one of India’s several batting experiments in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), which began with the trip of Australia earlier this month, delivered a magnificent first international hundred as India put the West Indies on yet another leather search.
After choosing to bat, India easily improved their 314 for 9 from two nights earlier with to Deol’s 115 and the brilliant half-centuries of Smriti Mandhana, rookie Pratika Rawal, and Jemimah Rodrigues. In the face of India’s assault in the powerplay and the dying stages, the West Indies appeared to be lacking in ideas, unreliable with the ball, and utterly bad on the field.

Deol was defeated in square leg on 20 by none other than Dendra Dottin, one of their top players. Deol made them pay for it. She reached a half-century in 62 balls after building steadily, then she changed pace in the last overs to complete her century off 98 balls with a magnificent pick-up shot from Shamilia Connell to the deep square leg boundary.
She found a capable ally in Rodrigues, and the two attempted a shot every ball during their rapid-fire 116-run partnership off only 71 deliveries for the fourth wicket. The knowledge that she had actually lost out on a chance to harm the West Indies in the last overs lingered as she made her way back.
But Rodrigues made up for it. She was excellent against spin, rolling back to pull, paddling fired-in deliveries past short fine leg, and lofting inside-out over cover. Deol demonstrated her adaptability by accelerating as easily as she had constructed the innings. She was out trying to smash a waist-high full toss after earning a half-century off 34 deliveries.
Along with the self-assurance gained by working at the crease, Deol thrived on that intensity. India scored 184 runs in the last 20 overs, up from 160 two nights prior. They should be quite encouraged that they were able to do this with only an undefeated 13 from Richa Ghosh.
Despite all of the late-order pyrotechnics, Rawal, who appeared to be just as anxious as she was in her Sunday debut, could have easily been the focus of the innings. She came out hoping to score as soon as possible. Although there wasn’t much swing available, Rawal made an impression with some commanding shot-making, particularly with her ability to cover-drive and stand tall to punch on the rise, as she demonstrated when she hit Dottin for consecutive fours in the fifth over. After three overs without a wicket, it could have even helped remove Dottin from the assault.
On the other hand, Mandhana, who finished the series opener as the highest run scorer in women’s ODI this year, only continued where she left off. She shown more than simply signs of physical strength against muscling spinners, particularly Hayley Mathews. Because the openers didn’t let the bowlers relax, every over between overs one and thirteen resulted in at least a boundary, with the exception of the second.
Mandhana was comfortably ahead of Rawal until the eighth over, but the vice captain of India quickly caught up and passed her to reach her 29th half-century and her second consecutive of the series off only 44 balls.
When the wicketkeeper ripped out the bails, Rawal even tried to sacrifice her wicket, but Mandhana was too far ahead of her. Mandhana turned around to give Rawal a pat as she began to walk away.
Even as Deol overcame a sluggish start, Rawal would soon raise her first half-century off 58 and climb the gears to imperiously loft Karishma Ramharack for her first six. Dottin’s missed chance was the catalyst that caused Rawal to change gears. The West Indies were under pressure for a large portion of the afternoon.
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