Hayley Matthews starred with the bat, ball and as captain to vault West Indies to their second consecutive win at the Women’s T20 World Cup. Courtesy this narrow three-run win over Pakistan, West Indies still hang by a thread in the tournament but they need other results to go their way.
Opting to bat, Matthews stroked 20 off 21 balls, including three boundaries, in a steady start. When she was outdone by Fatima Sana in the sixth over, Rashada Williams (30) and Shemaine Campbelle (22) added 40 runs for the second wicket as WI looked set for a good total. But compared to the first 10 overs which saw WI total 61/1, the last 10 overs yielded 55/5 in contrast, with Pakistani spinners ruling the roost and holding the opposition off to a below par total on that pitch.
Nida Dar was the pick of the bowlers, picking 2 for 13 in her four overs and was largely responsible for triggering the slide for WI with the wicket of Chinelle Henry. She came back to pick Aaliyah Alleyne, this time bowled.
Pakistan’s chase wasn’t off to the greatest of starts. Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen, the two openers, were back in the pavilion in the space of three balls, with only 15 on the board. Ameen, in fact, perished to a sharp catch by Matthews at mid-wicket. Bismah Maroof (26) and Nida Dar (27) then steadied the innings with a 44-run stand but took their own sweet time in doing so. Once Dar fell in the 14th over to Afy Fletcher, Aliya Riaz came in and injected some momentum into the chase.
With 30 needed off the last three overs, both teams sniffed a chance. Matthews’s strike of Maroof in the 18th over tipped the scale in West Indies’s favour and even though Shamilia Connell conceded three fours in the last over, Pakistan and Riaz were left with too much to do as they fell short of the target by four runs. Williams finished with 2 for 14.
Brief Scores: West Indies 116/6 (Williams 30; Dar 2-13) beat Pakistan 113/5 (Riaz 29*; Matthews 2-14) by 3 runs
