Yes, you read that right. It was a close contest and most of us missed the live streaming of the same. We had BCCI who was busy talking about the men’s match while the BCCI Women handle had no updates. The Windies Cricket though was kind enough to write down a few tweets about the match but made sure to gain the wrath of the Indian cricket fans by geo-blocking the YouTube streaming in India.
The funniest part is, the streaming is actually made to reach a more global audience.
While we already had the trouble of viewing the match, India almost made us not to regret them, thanks to their chase that looked spineless without any spark in the absence of Smriti Mandhana. Still, it was one of the close finishes you would see.
Batting first, Stacy-Ann King had the closest view of Natasha McLean’s brilliant 51. After scoring the team’s first fifty-run for the opening partnership in three years.
India then bounced back to pick two wickets to push West Indies for 51 for 2.
After McLean’s dismissal, Nation and Taylor added another 50-run partnership for the team and Nation got out for 43. Taylor then made sure to take the team to 225 for 7 before getting out in the final delivery.
Talking about the final delivery, Taylor bagged a six in the penultimate delivery to move on to 94. The next delivery, she blasted past Bisht’s head. It certainly looked like a six, enter Harmanpreet Kaur. Kaur managed to grab the one-handed blinder at the boundary. Possibly, the moment of the match.
How. Can. You? #INDWvWIW #kaur pic.twitter.com/SgZvB906dO
— Krithika (@krithika0808) November 1, 2019
India then started their chase well with a 78-run partnership for the first wicket. Priya Punia made sure to use the drop-catch opportunity to score yet another brilliant fifty, she made 75 and got out at the crucial moment to Anisa Mohammed who grabbed five wickets, her sixth five-wicket haul. She was caught by Shabika Gajnabi, who replaced Chinelle Henry as the concussion substitute after the latter got hit by the advertising board while fielding.
Punia was supported by Jemimah Rodrigues’s 41. At one point, India looked comfortable with wickets in hand but unfortunately, the missing acceleration cost them the game. The team had a lot of time to finish off the match but with the top-order batters eating the deliveries, there was some extra pressure on the lower order to hit right away. This certainly cost India.
Chasing 9 off 6 deliveries, India fell short of one run. Poor umpiring had a part to play here as Poonam Yadav, the final wicket to fall, got out a few deliveries before itself in the last over by run-out. Since there was no TV Umpire, she wasn’t given out.
India’s direct qualification for the next World Cup is doubtful after this loss, considering that the team will be skipping their match against Pakistan.
Image courtesy: ICC
