West Indies Sail to Victory Chasing 135 Matthews’ Heroics Lead the Charge
Set to chase 135, West Indies comfortably amassed the total for the loss of just two wickets and 10 balls to spare, courtesy of a match-winning knock by their skipper Matthews.
The touring side had a decent start to the run chase as Matthews and Rashada Williams added 25 runs for the first wicket before the latter fell victim to Sadia Iqbal in the fifth over.
Williams scored 16 off 11 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.
Matthews was then joined by Shemaine Campbelle and the duo put the touring side in sheer command with a dominant partnership.
The duo batted sensibly and 103 runs for the second-wicket partnership, majorly dominated by Matthews, who also brought her half-century in the process.
Matthews, however, could not take West Indies over the line as she fell victim to Nashra Sandhu in the 18th over with the touring side needing a mere seven.
She remained the top-scorer for West Indies with a 59-ball 78 and struck 11 boundaries.
Meanwhile, Campbelle carried her bat all the way through and remained unbeaten with a 33-run knock.
For Pakistan, only Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu could pick up a wicket.
Put into bat first, Pakistan women managed to amass a formidable total, courtesy of a gutsy knock by opener Sidra.
The home side got off to a flying start to their innings and amassed 34 runs in the first four overs with Ayesha Zafar leading the charge.
Qiana Joseph then provided West Indies with a much-needed breakthrough as she castled Ayesha in the next over. Ayesha scored 22 off 16 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.
The stand lasted in the 13th over when Afy Fletcher cleaned up Muneeba, who scored 25 off 19 balls, hitting three boundaries.
Fletcher struck again in the same over and got rid of Pakistan captain Nida Dar (2).
The back-to-back dismissals ignited a middle-order collapse and Pakistan lost four more wickets in quick succession and consequently slipped to 116/7 in 17.4 overs.
Sidra, on the other hand, carried her bat till the penultimate over and perished after top-scoring for Pakistan with a 52-ball 48. Her gritty knock featured five boundaries.
Later, Rameen Shamim (16) bolstered the home side’s total past the 130-run mark with a brisk cameo.
Afy Fletcher led the bowling attack for West Indies with 3/17 in her four overs, followed by Joseph, who bagged two.
Hayley Matthews and Aaliyah Alleyne chipped in with a wicket apiece.
It is worth mentioning here that West Indies lead the five-match series 3-1 against hosts Pakistan.
