West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews admitted that her team fell well short of expectations on Sunday as they suffered a humbling 211-run defeat to India Women in the first One Day International (ODI) at Vadodara.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Matthews, who endured a disappointing outing with the bat and ball, highlighted a lack of execution across all areas. “We probably were not quite on the mark today—all three facets of the game, really,” Matthews said post-match. “Not the brand of cricket we want to play, and we have to improve moving forward. Just getting back to the training part and being hungrier in things that we do.”
India set a daunting target of 315 after scoring 314 for 9 in their 50 overs. The West Indies bowlers struggled with consistency, and despite a standout performance by Zaida James, who claimed 5 for 45, the hosts managed to pile on the runs. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a fluent 91, while Harleen Deol chipped in with 44.
The West Indies bowlers had hoped to restrict India to a more manageable total. “We felt we could keep them to 270-280 at one point, and they did not get very far away,” Matthews noted. However, the final 20 overs saw India accelerate, capitalizing on lapses in the field and inconsistent bowling to set a commanding total.
In reply, the West Indies batting line-up collapsed under the pressure of the chase. Only Afy Fletcher (24) and Shemaine Campbell (21) managed to reach double figures, as the team crumbled to 103 all out. Renuka Singh starred with the ball for India, taking 5 for 29 to dismantle the visitors’ batting order.
Matthews, who was dismissed for a duck and finished with bowling figures of 2 for 61, emphasized the importance of avoiding such performances in the future. “You are going to have bad days, but we need to try to avoid that as much as possible and not make it a habit,” she said. “We were not consistent with the ball and in the field.”
The loss underscored the gap between the two sides, with India dominating despite not batting to their full potential. The West Indies will need to regroup quickly, focusing on their execution and consistency as they look ahead to the remaining two ODIs in the series. (Sportsmax)