Bruised WI target quick turnaround

WELLINGTON: As much as winning, losing can become a habit too. West Indies, who lost the recently-concluded ODI series versus New Zealand 3-0, will be aiming to get out of what seems like a long tunnel of darkness when they take on the hosts in the five-match T20I series, starting with the first game in Bay Oval, on Wednesday.

The only match of the ODI rubber where the Windies lifted their game was in the first ODI, when Stafanie Taylor's breezy 93-ball 90 propelled the visitors to touching distance of a nail-biting win only to lose by a single run. In the second and third ODIs, the tourists' batters struggled to make an impact and slipped to an 8-wicket loss and a 205-run loss respectively.

Incidentally, Taylor, the captain, was the only one who stood tall in those two games - compiling 96 and 26. On a slightly positive note, the Windies tend to prefer the shortest format of the game, having won their last six T20Is and they're the defending WT20 Champions. The Windies camp would hope the likes of Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews and Kycia Knight can support their captain. Knight and Matthews have played enough T20Is by now and the Windies think-tank would expect them to reduce the burden on Taylor's shoulders. Afy Fletcher, who impressed with her legbreaks in the ODI series (5 wickets), Dottin and Taylor will be the key members of the bowling line-up. Sharmilla Connell, the fastest bowler in the Windies camp, struggled to make her presence felt in the ODI series.

So just like some of her teammates, she also will be hoping for a change in fortunes in the T20 format. New Zealand, meanwhile, have a settled side to bank upon. Suzie Bates, Amy Satterthwaite and Sophie Devine, who form the bulwark of New Zealand's batting, were in prime form in the ODI rubber. Devine showcased her power-hitting in the final ODI with an unbeaten 58-ball 73. The powerful batter has an impressive strike rate of around 120 in the T20 format. She also collected the Player of the Series award (158 runs) during the T20I rubber versus Pakistan last year.