Indian Women’s cricket team roared back to winning ways as they defeated West Indies by a huge margin of 155 runs. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur scored their respective centuries to help propel the Indian eves back on track after they suffered a 62-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand recently.
In the previous game as well, Kaur had scored a valiant 71-run knock, but it went in vain as the White Ferns steamrolled over India. Against West Indies though, after Mithali Raj won the toss and chose to bat first, the Indian eves dominated from the get-go.
The pair of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana wove together a 184-run knock which is the highest ever for the Indian Women’s team in ODIs, for the fourth wicket.
READ| Women’s World Cup 2022: Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur shine as India beat West Indies by 155 runs
While Mandhana scored 123 runs, Kaur struck 109 runs including 10 boundaries and a couple of sixes. They helped India score a target of 317 runs, while would prove to be a mountain too huge to climb for West Indies.
Seeing the duo of Mandhana and Kaur come up top India, who wear the jerseys 18 and 7, fans on Twitter couldn’t help reminisce the Indian duo of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni who wore 18 and 7 previously.
Here’s how Twitterati reacted to Mandhana and Kaur’s centurion knocks:
#INDvWI
Queens pic.twitter.com/KfTpjEaDaM
— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) March 12, 2022
So India’s no.18 who also happens to be the only pink ball centurion in the team scored a hundred today #INDvWI #CWC22 #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/TGLwFgbjxm
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 12, 2022
Jersey No. 7 Jersey No. 18
A special bond in India cricket#SmritiMandhana #HarmanpreetKaur #India #INDvWI #Cricket pic.twitter.com/7iWkVEsfgv
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) March 12, 2022
READ| Women’s World Cup 2022: Harmanpreet Kaur’s 71 goes in vain as New Zealand defeat India
Jersey No. 18 and 7 making runs and big partnerships for India in tough situations
Have I seen that before pic.twitter.com/HvjRbbBGMP
— Reach (@shashankoffic) March 12, 2022
Partnership between 18 nd 7
Then now pic.twitter.com/f0PmglnIEw
— Arpit Raj (@arps010) March 12, 2022
No.7 & 18 Saving India…not the 1st Time..#CWC22 pic.twitter.com/iQ9ZcSBuhr
— Rohan MSDian (@Csk_army1) March 12, 2022
The West Indies women’s team could only muster up 162 runs in reply, despite having got off to a flyer.
Openers Deandra Dottin (62 off 46) and Hayley Matthews (43 off 36) got the Caribbean side up and running, but once they were dismissed the rest of the team couldn’t sustain the required pressure.