IMAGE: Indian bowlers could only scalp a single wicket against West Indies. Photograph: BCCIIndia's stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana was disappointed that her bowlers put up a below-par performance as Hayley Matthews put them to sword with a blazing 85 not out as West Indies levelled the three-match women's T20I series with a resounding nine-wicket victory in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
India scored 159 for 9, riding on Mandhana's 62, but West Indies reached the target with 26 balls to spare. In all, Indian bowlers conceded 27 boundaries and two sixes, and Mandhana found that unacceptable despite the dew setting in to make it difficult for her bowlers to grip the ball.
"I think conditions changed, but we couldn't execute our plans. There was moisture, but we couldn't do better. As a bowling unit, we need to execute our plans better going forward. There was a lot dew, but we can't complaint. We need to come back stronger in the next game," Mandhana said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
She felt that Indian batters' performance was also not up to the mark.
"The kind of batting we could do in the first game, the same shots were not coming off tonight. We had to be a little more sensible and then start launching. We had a good launchpad."
She was all praise for Richa Ghosh, whose 17-ball-32 took the team past 150-run mark.
"Richa batted extremely well, we could have scored 10-15 runs more. Even me, getting out at the wrong time, I could have stayed (at the crease) more. Going forward, we will have to pride ourselves on executing what we want to execute."
The dew set in during the back-10 of Indian batting, felt Mandhana.
"It (the dew) was not there as much in the first ten overs of their fielding. Cricket is a game where you cannot complain. We knew dew was going to be there. We have to put our hand up and figure out where to bowl when dew is there and even (be better) at fielding."
Having led from the front, West Indies skipper Matthews couldn't be more pleased.
"We felt 160 was around par, we were happy with what they got in the end. Felt they got 10 runs too many than what we would have liked, but it felt like a really chaseable target," she said.
