On this day: Deandra Dottin slams the first-ever T20I hundred in Women’s cricket
When we think about T20 cricket and power-hitters, often West Indian batsmen come to our minds. But, a lot of fans might not know that they have an equally good T20I women’s team. In fact, when the West Indies men’s team won the 2016 T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, they had the women’s team celebrating their triumph from earlier in the day as well. One of the stars of that side, Deandra Dottin holds a record like Chris Gayle. The two cricketers have scored the first-ever T20I century in men’s and women’s cricket respectively.
The story of Dottin’s incredible knock dates back to 2010 when she was just an 18-year-old girl playing for West Indies in a home T20 World Cup. In the opening match of the women’s event against South Africa at the Warner Park in St. Kitt and Nevis, she put up a show of brutal hitting, never seen before by her counterparts.
Batting at no. 6, the Barbados-born cricketer arrived at the crease when the score was 52 for 4 in 9.2 overs. West Indies desperately needed someone to stick together in a partnership and guide their innings. Dottin timed her innings beautifully. Between the 11th and 13th over, she managed to pick up one boundary in each over, swiftly moving to 25 runs off 14 balls. Soon, she started accelerating the innings and reached her fifty off 25 balls.
But, it was in the 17th over, when she cut loose, hitting four sixes. By the end of the 18th over, she reached 99, with a couple more sixes and a four. She notched up her ton from just 38 balls, meaning her second fifty came off just 13 balls. At the time, it was the fastest T20I century in men’s and women’s cricket combined. She ended with 112 runs from 45 balls, with seven fours and seven towering sixes. West Indies finished their innings with 175 for 5. Dottin scored 112 off the 123 runs which were scored from the moment she arrived at the crease. West Indies went on to defeat South Africa by 17 runs, in which she also took a wicket.
A new star was born on May 5, 2010. Dottin has since gone to play many such outstanding knocks and also had a lot of success with the ball.
