Ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup, one of the most anticipated global events in women’s cricket, India’s national women’s team picked up a confidence-boosting 26-run win over the West Indies women’s side in a warm-up fixture held in Cardiff on Monday.
With regular West Indies captain Hayley Matthews sidelined for the warm-up encounter, all-rounder Chinelle Henry stepped up to lead the Caribbean side. After winning the pre-game coin toss, Henry made the call to send India into bat first, putting her bowling unit to an early test. India’s top order delivered a dynamic batting performance, building up to a competitive total of 179 runs for the loss of eight wickets at the close of their 20 overs.
Emerging batter Bharti Fulmali emerged as India’s standout performer with the bat, striking an unbeaten half-century off just 40 deliveries to anchor the late-innings push. Star opener Smriti Mandhana added a quick-fire 39 runs from 23 balls, giving India’s innings a powerful early momentum, while Yastika Bhatia chipped in with 36 runs before retiring out per warm-up match protocols. For West Indies, veteran spinner Afy Fletcher turned in a dominant bowling display, claiming four wickets for just 23 runs to keep her side in contention. Karishma Ramharack, Deandra Dottin and Aaliyah Alleyne each picked up one wicket to round out the West Indies bowling effort.
Chasing the 180-run target, West Indies got off to a flying start, putting on 63 runs without losing a wicket by the ninth over. But a sudden batting collapse turned the tide of the match: the Caribbean side slumped to 102 runs for five wickets by the 14th over, and could never recover their early momentum. They were eventually restricted to 153 runs for eight wickets, falling 26 runs short of India’s total. Opener Dottin led the West Indies batting with a 44-ball 49, and opening partner Shemaine Campbelle scored 25 runs before retiring out, but the rest of the batting line-up failed to build on the solid opening stand. For India, young spinner Shreyanka Patil was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets for 36 runs, while left-arm spinner Radha Yadav supported her with three wickets for just 25 runs to seal the win.
Following the match, Fletcher reflected on her strong individual performance, noting that she was pleased to see her off-season pre-tournament preparation pay off ahead of the World Cup. “It’s always good to be among the wicket takers, so I mean to see that work that has been done and to come out and just keep it simple and executing, it’s a good feeling,” Fletcher said. “Then the contribution from the team was excellent work. It’s always good to be contributing to the team.”
West Indies will wrap up their warm-up schedule against defending champions Australia in Cardiff on Wednesday, before kicking off their official World Cup campaign against New Zealand in their opening group match on June 13.