Ruthless Matthews powers West Indies' 9-wicket win against India in 2nd T20I to level series 1-1

Hayley Matthews scintillating 85 not out overshadowed Smriti Mandhanas classy 62 as West Indies women ended their ninematch losing streak against India winning the second T20I here by nine wickets to level the threematch series 11 here on TuesdayAfter Mandhanas 41ballknock and Richa Ghoshs quickfire 32 off 17 balls took the hosts to 1599 West Indies tore apart the Indian bowling attack in a ruthless display of powerhitting to record their biggest win in terms of wickets against IndiaThe sixthranked West Indies knocked off the 160run target in a mere 154 overs to reach 1601 recording their first win over world No 3 India after nine consecutive losses since November 2016 This was their ninth win in the shortest format in 24 meetingsMatthews who had earlier taken 236 led the demolition job with a brutal 47ball 85 which included a whopping 17 fours while Qiana Joseph 38 off 22 balls 6x4s 2x6s and Shemaine Campbelle 25 not out fired their shots tooThe series decider will now be played here at the DY Patil on Thursday India won the first game by 49 runs It was Joseph who launched in the second over hitting three fours and a six off Titas Sadhu to collect 18 runs and Matthews joined her partner with a flurry of fours as the West Indies brought up their 50 inside five oversWith dew settling in fast Indian bowlers could not make a mark with the new ball and the only chance in the powerplay went begging when Sajana Sajeevan dropped Joseph on 26Saima Thakor 128 eventually deceived Joseph in the seventh over taking the pace off the ball with the lefthander miscuing one shot safely collected by Richa Ghosh for the only breakthroughAlso ReadI think hes one of the best bowlers in the world Vettori hails Josh HazlewoodThe dismissal brought a brief period of lull before Matthews hit a couple of fours off Radha Yadav and No 3 Shemaine Campbell hit three boundaries in a row off Sadhu to regain the momentumMatthews really took a liking to Yadhav as the 11th over saw the Windies skipper smashing four consecutive fours producing a fine mix of powerful hits with precision in finding gaps Thakor suffered a similar fate as the West Indies captain hammered three fours in a row in the 14th over to bring shut the doors completely on IndiaEarlier Mandhanas second successive fifty and Richa Ghoshs powerpacked 32 ensured a par scoreStandin skipper Mandhana made the most of her three reprieves notching up an attractive halfcentury laced with nine fours and a six to provide muchneeded impetus at the top as wickets fell at the other endIf Mandhana built the base Ghosh played the finishers role to perfection with six fours in her 17ballknock which took India past the 150run markAt one stage it appeared tough given the failure of the other specialist battersComing off a superb 73 in the series opener Jemimah Rodrigues 13 hit a couple of fours but was trapped legbefore when she missed connecting with the ball trying to work it to the on side falling to MatthewsDebutant Raghvi Bisht failed to make a dent as she played across the line to be pinned in front of the wickets for only 5 off Afy Fletcher 228Deepti Sharma 17 only had herself to blame for her runout going for a nonexistent run even as Ghosh kept asking her to returnDeandra Dottin was the hero for the Windies for her spectacular fielding and for returning a measly 40142 snaffling the wickets of Uma Chetry and GhoshDottin was also successful in not only saving a six with a perfectlytimed leap on the ropes but her effort resulted in a spectacular catch to dismiss Yadav 7 grabbing the ball in both hands while being parallel to the ground after covering a considerable distance from longonIn a redhot form Mandhanas flourish was a delight to watch as she also made the most of multiple reprieves three dropped catches in consecutive oversHaving struck three fours off Ashmini Munisar in the 13th over which had one of those dropped chances Mandhanas stroke of the innings came when she pierced the infield with a delicate drive through covers for four on the final ball to prove why she is a class apartThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever