Matthews reflects on India matches

NAVI MUMBAI, India:

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews spoke candidly after her team's 60-run loss to India, which saw the regional side surrender the T20 series 2-1 on Thursday.

India amassed their highest T20I total of 217 for three, which was always going to be a difficult chase for the regional women. In the end, a middle-order implosion saw the West Indies getting 157 for nine, and captain Matthews reflected on what could have been if the team had done a few things differently.

"I think it just probably came down to execution again today. We had really strong plans, but India also went back and did some homework as well. We probably feel like we do need to be a bit more disciplined with the ball. But look, a series like this is going to help us to learn a lot, and, hopefully, that's what we take from this."

India's batting prowess was on full display, spearheaded by captain Smriti Mandhana's exceptional innings. The opener chalked up her third straight half-century, with wicketkeeper Richa Gosh weighing in towards the back end with the joint fastest T20I half-century.

"I think Smriti obviously had a great series, but her knock today to me was probably the best one. Having to bowl at Richa at the end was quite difficult as well. We felt almost as if you didn't land it on a penny, it was going to be pretty hard to stop her from scoring."

Despite the loss, Matthews found positives in her team's performance, particularly in their ability to adapt to conditions that improved as the series progressed.

"The wickets got probably better and better as the games went on. Individually, no matter if we had batted first or bowled first in any of the games, we still had to come out and play really good cricket."

Looking ahead to the upcoming ODI series, Matthews emphasised the importance of discipline and building on the progress shown in the T20s.

"We felt when we were out there and disciplined with the ball, we were able to get the Indian batters to try different things. That's what's going to be key in the ODIs as well."

She also expressed confidence in the batting line-up's potential, referencing the team's impressive 170 for one in a previous match.

"It shows that we've got the capability within the dressing room to go out and put big totals on the board. Hopefully, we can carry that into the ODIs."

The first of three ODI's bowl off with a day/night match on Sunday in Vadodara.

- CMC