Spinners power India to victory in rain-curtailed encounter

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The game was truncated due to rain, and was reduced to a nine-over contest. West Indies opted to field first and put up a solid combined effort with the ball, restricting India to 50/7 in the first innings.

The Indian bowling attack, however, stepped up to the challenge, restricting West Indies to 45/5 in the chase. Patil, in particular, was excellent with figures of 2/8 in two overs.

Earlier in the day, the West Indies spin-bowling attack enjoyed a fair bit of success too. Hayley Matthews was impressive upfront, exploiting the absence of the rested Smriti Mandhana. She dismissed the openers – Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues – within the first three overs, reducing India to 13/2.

Matthews soon added a third wicket to her kitty, sending back Veda Krishnamurthy for just five runs. India continued to struggle as Afy Fletcher and Sheneta Grimmond were brought into the attack.

Grimmond struck first, disturbing the stumps behind Deepti Sharma to claim her maiden T20I wicket. Fletcher followed suit just four balls later, as India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was stumped for a 12-ball 6. She then sent back Harleen Deol, who was brought in for Mandhana, off the very next delivery, claiming her 100th international wicket in 97 games.

Pooja Vastrakar (10) was the only Indian player to get to a double-figure score, as the visitors finished at 50/7.

The West Indies openers tried to start slow and see off the initial overs, but their resistance could not last long, as Chedean Nation was bowled by Deepti Sharma in the third over. Matthews, who registered the joint-highest individual score of the game (11), became Patil's first scalp of the day in the fifth over. West Indies were still in control at that point.

Chinelle Henry and Natasha McLean then built the highest partnership of the day to take the hosts to 31/2 in seven overs, and they looked on course to take get their first win of the series. However, Radha Yadav came through for India, sending back Henry on the first ball of the eighth over.

McLean tried her best to keep the hosts in the game and was at the crease with 13 runs needed off the final over. However, quick work from Krishnamurthy and Patil meant she was run out on the second ball, and India eventually eased to their sixth international win on the trot.

The visitors have now taken a 4-0 lead in the five-match series, with the final game to be played at the same venue on Thursday, 21 November.