West Indies Women 368 for 8 (Taylor 171, Dottin 50, Siriwardene 2-58) beat Sri Lanka Women 159 (Rasangika 28, Quintyne 3-32) by 209 runs
Scorecard
A flamboyant knock of 171 from opener Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies Women crush Sri Lanka Women by 209 runs in a Group A match at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. Taylor's hundred and a powerful, 20-ball 50 from Deandra Dottin took West Indies to 368 for 8, their highest ODI score. In reply, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 159 runs with ten overs to spare, giving the West Indies their first win of the tournament.
Taylor, who was named the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and the Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2011, also broke her own record for the highest individual score by a West Indian batsman in women's cricket, surpassing her innings of 147 against Netherlands in 2010.
West Indies got off to a flying start after Sri Lanka chose to field. Kycia Knight and Taylor scored 19 runs in the first two overs, helped partly by some wayward bowling from Sri Lanka. Taylor was the more subdued of the duo in the early overs, as Knight went after the bowling, especially medium-pacer Sripali Weerakkody who conceded 25 runs in her first three overs.
By the time spin was introduced, Taylor was well-settled and, in spite of losing Kycia and Shemaine Campbelle quickly, kept the momentum going. She used her feet well against the spinners, coming down the track or stepping on the backfoot to cut through the offside. The right-hand batsman brought up her 50 with a lofted drive over mid-off and, when the scoring rate slipped a little, hit a six over long-on. Her partnership of 110 runs with the other Knight sister, Kyshona, steadied the West Indies innings. Taylor toyed with the Sri Lankan attack, scoring a flurry of fours and sixes before she brought up her fourth ODI hundred off 97 balls.
It was a run-out which broke the partnership as Kyshona was dismissed for 44 by a direct hit from Deepika Ranasangika on the first ball of the 34th over bowled by Eshani Kaushalya. The run-out didn't fluster Taylor, who dispatched the next two deliveries for fours. New batsman Deandra Dottin lived up to her reputation of a hard-hitting batsman coming into this World Cup, clobbering a huge six over long-on, off her first ball. Kaushalya was struck for 16 runs in that over.
Dottin was in her element when the Powerplay began in the 36th over. She struck two fours and a six and followed that up with two consecutive fours in the next over, struck so hard that she had to change her bat. Sri Lanka were sloppy, missing two run-out chances of Taylor in the 38th over, even as the overthrows and wides they bowled cost them 14 runs. With the opposition running out of bowling options, Dottin struck two more sixes to add to their agony, one of these almost landing in the balcony of a neighbouring residential building.
When Sherina Ravikumar eventually dismissed Dottin, the pair had put on an astounding 90 runs in almost six overs, of which 71 came in the powerplay overs. West Indies lost a couple of quick wickets after Dottin's exit before Taylor was joined by captain Merissa Aguilleira. The duo punished the Lankan bowlers a little more, striking a 55-run partnership in just 28 balls. Taylor was eventually dismissed for 171, and her knock included 18 fours and two sixes. Aguilleira scored an unbeaten 47 as West Indies reached a daunting score of 368.
Needing more than seven runs an over, the Sri Lankan innings quickly fell into disarray. The opening partnership lasted just 25 balls and with the West Indies bowlers holding a steady line outside the off stump, the pressure kept mounting. Left-arm seamer Shanel Daley struck twice in her first spell, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 51 for 3 in the 12th over. Prasadani Weerakkody anchored the innings with a patient knock of 22, but found herself running out of partners. Legspinner Shaquana Quintyne ended her stay at the crease with a brilliant catch off her own bowling. She picked up two more wickets to finish with figures of 3 for 32. Offspinner Anisa Mohammed stifled the batsmen with her flight, enhanced by her high-arm action, conceding only 10 runs in 5.2 overs and picking up one wicket.
The seventh-wicket partnership between Dilani Manodara and Deepika Rasangika was worth 37 runs but, by then, Sri Lanka were almost out of the contest. Rasangika's 25-ball 28 only delayed the inevitable and Sri Lanka held on for another ten overs before West Indies prevailed.
