Veda and Rajeshwari combine to ensure a third victory to India: Veda Krishnamurthy with the bat and the left-arm spinner, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, with the Kookaburra ensured a third consecutive victory (and a series victory) for Team India in the ICC Women’s Championship 2014-16, at Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju Andhra Cricket Association Cricket Ground, Mulapadu, Vijaywada.
Put into bat by the visitors, the home team managed to put up 199 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Starting poorly and losing wickets at regular intervals, it was the 57-run partnership for the fifth-wicket between Veda and the debutant, Devika Vaidya, that took the team to a decent total.
Batting for 100 minutes, facing 79 deliveries, Veda contributed a very valuable 71 runs aided by 10 fours. Devika with 32 runs off 45 balls with 3 fours was the second best contributor.
Chasing a target of 200 runs in 50 overs, West Indian women were in all sorts of trouble. Except for a well made 44 runs off 53 balls with 9 fours by the opener Hayley Mathews and another 55 runs off 94 balls with 5 fours by Kycia A Knight, no other significant contribution came from any batter.
More than half the team could not even reach double digit.
Indian left-arm spinner Gayakwad, accounted for Mathews (44), Kyle (55), Cooper (2) and Anisa (3) giving away 34 runs in her quota of 10 overs and was successful in restricting the Windies women to 184 runs in 49.1 overs.
India won the contest by a margin of 15 runs and won the series 3-0.
Though India have won three matches and the series, they need to take a close look at their batting department. In all the three games it has been the contribution of the skipper Mithila Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy that had come to their rescue, both while setting up a target or chasing one.
The batters definitely need to gear up and start contributing.
