India Women’s first warm-up fixture ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup finally got under way in Cardiff after rain pushed back the start, and West Indies chose to field when play began. It was a slow start to the day off the field, but India made it move quickly once the first over arrived.
Smriti Mandhana, standing in as captain, led the response with a flying start as India collected 10 runs from the opening over and then pushed through another 13-run over early in the innings. Chinelle Henry took the new ball for West Indies, with Jahzara Claxton and Zaida James also among the bowlers used as the visitors began their preparation in earnest.
Interest in the india women's national cricket team vs west indies women match scorecard was driven as much by selection news as by the cricket itself. India confirmed that Harmanpreet, Deepti Sharma, Nandni Sharma and Arundhati Reddy would not play in the fixture, a point underlined on commentary by Raunak Kapoor, who said India had confirmed those four would be absent. The match was available on the Star Sports Network and JioHotStar, while ICC TV also carried it free through its app and website.
The absences gave the warm-up a slightly different shape, with India using the game to settle into World Cup mode without several senior names. That made Mandhana’s innings more important than a routine practice start: she had to set the tone while the side adjusted to a delayed surface and a reshuffled XI.
What remains unclear is the final score and result, because this was live coverage of a warm-up rather than a completed scorecard. Even so, the first signs in Cardiff suggested India were ready to use the fixture for rhythm, not just overs.
