MUMBAI, India – West Indies women’s cricket captain, Hayley Matthews, has called for tighter discipline in her team’s bowling after a crushing 60-run defeat against India sealed the T20I series 2-1.
India’s dazzling performance, headlined by their record-setting score of 217 for four, left the regional side with much to contemplate ahead of the ODI series starting Sunday.
Opting to bowl first, the West Indies struggled to contain India’s potent batting line-up. The Indian captain, Smriti Mandhana, delivered a spectacular 77 off 47 balls, while wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh unleashed a ferocious 54 off just 21 deliveries, including five towering sixes and three boundaries.
“We probably feel that we do need to be a bit more disciplined with the ball,” admitted Matthews, reflecting on her team’s shortcomings. “We had strong plans, but India went back, did their homework, and executed brilliantly. Kudos to their players for coming out and batting the way they did.”
Lessons from the loss
Matthews emphasized the need for precision and strategic bowling to stymie India’s aggressive batswomen. She singled out Mandhana’s commanding knock and Ghosh’s blistering finish as turning points in the match.
“Smriti obviously had a great series, but her knock today was probably the best one,” Matthews said. “Bowling to Richa at the end was particularly tough—you felt that if you didn’t land it perfectly, it was going to be very hard to stop her from scoring.”
Despite the loss, Matthews found encouragement in her team’s ability to post competitive scores. “We’ve been able to score runs, which is crucial in any format,” she remarked. Highlighting the team’s strong finish in the second T20I with 160 for one, she expressed confidence in the squad’s potential to deliver in the upcoming ODIs.
“We’ve got the capability within the dressing room to go out and put totals on the board. Hopefully, we can carry that forward into the ODIs,” Matthews added.
Key takeaways for the ODIs
The skipper stressed the importance of forcing the Indian batters to adapt their approach. “We weren’t disciplined enough with the ball to make them try different things,” Matthews noted. “That’s going to be key in the ODIs—we need to make scoring as difficult as possible for them.”
Additionally, Matthews acknowledged that the team’s success would hinge on execution, regardless of whether they bat or bowl first. “It’s not about whether we batted or bowled first—it comes down to how well we play while we’re out there,” she said. “In the games we lost, we weren’t at our best, and that’s why we lost them.”
With only a few days until the ODI series opener, Matthews emphasized the importance of recovery and preparation. “We’ll use the next few days to rest and recover, then focus on our planning for the ODIs,” she concluded.
