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It is scheduled to be played today.
India’s bowling coach Troy Cooley is hopeful that Mandhana will be fit to play for the first time. The 26-year-old sat out with a finger injury.
“She is working very hard and will be assessed after training,” said Cooley. “She did everything she needed to do and we’re pretty sure she’ll be fine during the season,” Cooley was quoted as saying by the ICC.
Against Pakistan, in Mandhana’s absence, Rodrigues scored an unbeaten 53 off 38 balls to beat their arch-rivals with an over to spare.
Cooley was happy to start on the front foot for the team and had reassuring words for Deepti Sharma, who saw her four overs cost her 39 in Sunday’s contest.
“He bowled three overs in the powerplay and got three fielders in one death over,” Cooley said.
“We know they are high-pressure situations but who can deliver the ball better than someone like Deepti? He is an extraordinary player. The girls are very good at reviewing their own performances and they are very open to input.
“Deepti is one of our key players and she will go for a few runs on some days, that is the nature of T20s, but she bowled in high-pressure situations and we believe she did a good job.”
West Indies are well aware of the threat posed by Sharma, who was impressive in the two January tri-series meetings between the two sides.
Sharma followed up with figures of 2–29, taking three for 11 as India recorded victories by 56 runs and eight wickets respectively, leaving the West Indies looking to reverse the form book in search of their first win of the competition.
“We know where we went wrong [in the tri-series],” said wicketkeeper Rashda Williams. “We know where we fell short, so it’s up to us to go out there and turn the day around.
“India will look to hit hard and they are more aggressive in the latter part of their innings, so it is up to us to control the game for as long as possible, especially in the last five because we know they are going to hit hard . We have to try and stop them by bowling in the right areas.”
West Indies were beaten by England in their first match, leaving the 2016 champions under no illusions about the challenge ahead if they are to target the latter stages this time around.
“After losing our first game, it is important that we come out and perform against India to the best of our abilities,” she said. “We need everyone to be on their A-game.”
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