It's easier for us to switch formats: Stafanie Taylor

With the 3-0 whitewash over India in the Twenty20 International (T20I) series on Tuesday (November 22), West Indies not just avenged their ODI thrashing earlier on the tour but also added another glorious chapter to their tryst with the hosts. Seven months after making history with their maiden title haul at the ICC World Twenty20 2016, having progressed to the knockouts by the virtue of a narrow win over the home side, the visitors came back to prove that they still remain the side to beat as far as the shortest format of the game is concerned.

Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies captain, said the memories from their success earlier in the year helped them brush aside the 50-over World Cup qualification disappointment and approach the T20Is on a confident note.

"We know that we are T20 champions and we did well earlier in this year. We had that confidence... that we could actually go out there and put in that hard work and come out victorious," Taylor said after West Indies clinched the third and final T20I by 15 runs to inflict a 3-0 sweep on India at the Dr. Gokaraju Laila Gangaraju ACA Cricket Ground in Mulapadu near Vijayawada. "For most of the girls its like an easy switch; some of us take one or two games though but, I think, as a team we know that we actually have that side where we can play T20 games (better) and we switch on quite comfortably."

What made the clean sweep sweeter were the familiar hands that guided them to it. Prodigious batter Hayley Matthews sent the packed Mulapadu stadium down the memory lane with near-repeat of her World T20 final heroics. The opener slammed a 22-ball 47 that set the tone of West Indies' innings, after Taylor had opted to bat. West Indies notched up the best powerplay score of the series - 58 for no loss - with Matthews doing the bulk of damage. At the time of the 18-year-old's dismissal, West Indies were cruising at nearly 10 an over.

Taylor hailed the youngster for unsettling the Indians' plans early on with her fearless hitting. "That was fantastic and it was definitely similar," Taylor laughed when asked if Matthews's strokeplay reminded the captain, watching from the non-striker's end, of the historic night at Eden Gardens. "Hayley is that kind of person who could keep you on your toes and you are thinking 'okay, what next?'; what should you bowl. That's what she did today. She had the bowlers guessing today."

Asked if the captain offered any advice to the youngster, Taylor said the plan was to let Matthews bat with all the freedom she needed. "Well, I guide her. I didn't really tell her exactly what to do. I just try to play that role where I am trying to guide her throughout her innings. She had that momentum, you know, so (I) let her express herself," she said.

"As an 18-year old she is brilliant. She has a long way to go and, I think, that if she continues going like this, she will definitely be someone to look out for in the future," the skipper added.

Taylor herself has had a phenomenal run in the T20Is. The 25-year-old skipper single-handedly dismantled India's bowling in the first game with a counter-attacking 51-ball 90 to script a comfortable six-wicket win. Since then, she's played a captain's knock in both the following matches to anchor her team's innings and guide them to winning totals with a pair of 40s.

Taylor said a clear understanding of her role at the top of the order helps her execute the responsibility entrusted on her. "If you know that you are the anchor person, (you are) quite crucial in the T20s; where (you should) try to bat as much as 15 overs. So, that's been my position, being at the top. I know that if I can get the team to at least, say, 100-115 at about 15 (overs), we have hitters who can come and finish the job. So, it is crucial of me to try to be there at that time," she concluded.