Five-year wait didn't reflect the team we're: Smriti Mandhana

India Women`s Smriti Mandhana plays a shot during the third T20 International cricket match of a series between India Women and West Indies Women, at D Y Patil Sports Stadium, in Navi Mumbai. Pic/PTI

India stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana said the five-year wait they had to go through to win a T20I series at home did not "reflect" the team's capabilities, a fact she reminded her colleagues ahead of the series decider here on Thursday. Put in to bat, India dished out a dominating batting display. Mandhana (77; 47b) set the foundation before Richa Ghosh (54; 21b) equalled the record for the joint-quickest fifty as the hosts posted their highest T20I total of 217/4. In response, West Indies were limited to 157/9 as India sealed the three-match series 2-1, their first series victory at home since 2019.

"After the last match, I told the girls it has been five years that we have not won a T20I series. That does not reflect the team we are," Mandhana said. "I told them that today, we have an opportunity to do that and we just want to keep doing the right things," added Mandhana. Mandhana hit a third successive fifty, continuing her red-hot form from the ODI series Down Under where she posted a century in the last match. "The batting line-up we had, there were a few youngsters coming in, so there was a bit of added responsibility and that kind of thing goes well if you really put your head into it, and when I do that, I probably bat better."

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"We lost all three tosses, so had to bat first and that is the harder thing to do (here). Really happy we could put up (a score) and loved the way Richa batted." On the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, she said: "Harman has been a pillar in the middle-order. Whenever she is there, you know that if something happens, she will be there." She was also all praise for rookie Raghvi Bist who made a fine 22-ball 31 not out.

"The girls stepped up beautifully. The way Raghvi batted was impressive. She came in with lots of intent and hitting her fourth or fifth ball for six, I would not have been able to do that in my second match." Player-of-the-Match, Richa, credited the team's strong start for the win. "We got a good start, the way everyone batted. I just wanted to continue that and whenever the ball was in my slot, I tried to hit it," said Richa.

"In the nets, I think about the match and try to clear (the fence). If the ball is in my slot, whether it is the first ball or the last ball, it does not matter. It feels very good when you contribute (towards such a win and such a series victory)." West Indies captain Hayley Matthews admitted their bowling lacked discipline on a challenging wicket. "We probably did not bowl as well as we wanted to. It was one of those wickets where we had a very small margin for error. We were not on it with the ball and missed our lengths more often than we wanted," Matthews said.

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