West Indies hope to stop Indian juggernaut

first T20I was a thumping 84-run win, the second was even bigger, by ten wickets with 57 balls to spare.

On both occasions, Shafali Verma was at the centre of those victories. The 15-year-old has been ruthless, to say the least. An example of her ball-striking was evident when she hit four boundaries in the very first over off Chinelle Henry in the second game. With scores of 73 and 69 not out, she has taken the attack to the opposition, completely overshadowing Smriti Mandhana at the other end.

The opening batters aside, India's bowling has more than lived up to expectations. Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav have been too good for the hosts, able to build dot ball pressure and also pick up wickets at regular interview. With India just one victory away from clinching the series the signs are ominous for the home team.

Moving focus to West Indies a quote comes to mind: My hope is that tomorrow will be fine, but, if tomorrow doesn't go well, I shall still hope to be fine tomorrow!

The above quote by Ernest Agyemang Yeboah could possibly be their current state of mind. They will surely hope to put in a much-improved performance come the third T20I on Thursday (November 14).

With Stafanie Taylor ruled out of the series, the chances of West Indies making a comeback are bleak. Their batters are really having a tough time, so much so, that it became tough for Taylor, who was on commentary for a while in the second T20I, to witness it. However, Anisa Mohammed, stand-in captain of West Indies, will be hoping against hope that her team puts up a fight - or at the least, improves in the fielding department.

One thing that might work for the hosts is perhaps a change of venue. The next three games will be played at Province Stadium in Guyana. A fresh surface and the support of the Guyanese people might be the dose the home side needs. The senior pros Shakera Selman, Hayley Matthews and Mohammed have to step up if they are to stop a rampaging India.

One would imagine that the gap between the second and the third game would have done the hosts some good. Is it really the case? Can they stop India from running away with the series? They sure can hope...

Squads:

West Indies: Anisa Mohammed (c), Cherry Ann-Fraser, Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Shakera Selman, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean, Shabika Gajnabi, Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy.