India kicked off the T20I series against West Indies with a comprehensive 49-run win in the first match in Navi Mumbai. Riding on half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana (54 off 33) and Jemimah Rodrigues (73 off 25), India were able to post a massive 195/4 on the board, a total that Hayley Matthews admitted to being “15-20 runs too many” at the post-match presentation ceremony. But West Indies, clearly not at their best as a unit, fared a bit worse than that, managing only 146/7 in their run-chase.

It wasn’t as one-sided a run-chase as the scorecard suggests though, at least as long as Deandra Dottin was at the crease. The 33-year-old hit 4 fours and 3 sixes in her 28-ball 52, keeping West Indies in the hunt. She added 44 runs for the third wicket with Qiana Joseph (49 off 33) and continued with her merry ways even after Qiana chipped one to mid-off. India’s efforts were hindered by two dropped catches of Dottin, but Titas Sadhu finally ended her innings with a catch at long-on.

Once Dottin was accounted for, India tightened the screws with the help of its spinners and crafted what felt like an easy victory towards the end.

West Indies’s effort in the field earlier in the day was sloppy, with the visitors dropping as many as three catches during the course of the innings. But it all started with conceding a 50-run opening stand, that saw Uma Chetry play the aggressor early on and Mandhana admirably catch up later and even hitting a six off Dottin.

After Uma was bowled by Karishma Ramharack soon after the PowerPlay, West Indies weren’t able to capitalize on the moment. Mandhana and Rodrigues went on to add 81 runs in only 7.2 overs, the pair picking 18 runs off a Matthews over at one point in time. Rodrigues went on to make her 12th T20I fifty, getting to the milestone off just 28 balls.

Mandhana fell in the 14th over, holing out to cover but Richa Ghosh walked in and wasted no time, finishing with a cameo of 20 off 14. Rodrigues meanwhile also kept at it, helping India add 56 in the final five overs. She stayed right until the penultimate ball of the innings, where she was run out but not before she had done the job for her side.

Brief Scores: India 195/4 (Rodrigues 73, Mandhana 54; Ramharack 2-18) beat West Indies 146/7 (Dottin 52, Joseph 49; Sadhu 3-37) by 49 runs