West Indies Women grabbed an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their Twenty20 Internationals series against hosts Pakistan Women after another Player-of-the-Match performance from their captain Hayley Matthews spurred them to a dramatic two-run win on Tuesday.
Matthews, the 26-year-old Barbadian all-rounder followed up a top score of 68 with two wickets inside the final five overs of the contest at the National Stadium on Tuesday, and the Pakistanis narrowly failed to get over the finish line after they appeared on course to overhaul a modest target of 133.
After pacer Aaliyah Alleyne bowled Pakistan captain Nida Dar for 17 in the 17th over, Matthews snared the prized scalp of opener Sidra Ameen, whose 63 off 58 balls was the top score for the hosts, and Fatima Sana off successive balls in the next over to reduce the chase of her opponents to tatters.
Long-serving leg-spinner Afy Fletcher held her nerve, and she delivered for the Caribbean side in the crucial penultimate over with Pakistan needing 14 from the final 12 balls.
Fletcher conceded only two runs from the over, and dismissed Aliyah Riaz off the second ball, and Natalia Pervaiz was run out off the next ball to intensify the pressure on the home team.
Pacer Shamilia Connell was entrusted with the final over with 12 required, and she conceded four from the first three balls, dismissed Najhia Alvi off the next ball before she ended with a wide, a dot ball, and a boundary in a stunning finish to the match.
It was the sixth successive win on the trip for the visitors after they won the preceding three ICC Women’s Championship One-day Internationals.
The fairy-tale run of Matthews on this continued when she struck 10 fours in her 49-ball innings and dragged her side to 132 for five after they were put in to bat in the night-time contest.
She added 89 for the second wicket with her deputy, Shemaine Campbelle, but there was little substance and stability from the rest of the batting, and West Indies Women could only muster 25 from the 26 balls after her dismissal.
Campbelle made 31, but no other batsman reached 20; and Sana was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with two for 22 from her allotted four overs.
The remaining two T20Is of the five-match series will be played on Thursday and Friday.
After the match, Shane Deitz, the West Indies coach said, “Three of the games went right down to the last ball, so it has been an amazing fighting spirit shown by our team. Under pressure, I think we control ourselves really well and we hit the right shots to get those tight games over the line, so I’m really proud of the girls who deserve all the credit.”
He continued, “The girls did a lot of planning for this. They understood the game and made up their own KPI’s for the team. So, credit to them for displaying great teamwork all around, especially working together with the sports staff. It has been a long tour of Pakistan but we’ve enjoyed every moment of it, and it’s great to have two trophies to take home to the Caribbean”
He added, “Whatever Hayley Matthews eats for breakfast every day she should keep eating for the rest of her life because she’s on fire. Obviously, she is one of the best players in the world and she keeps showing it. Since she’s been with the team she has been unbelievable. It’s her captaincy, leadership, and determination to win, bowl the big overs, and take the big catches. What we want to do in every game is have fun and win with a smile on our faces, and that’s what we do in training. We have fun and the results take care of themselves.” (CMC)
Summerise Scores
WEST INDIES WOMEN 132 for five off 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 68, Shemaine Campbelle 31; Fatima Sana 2-22) vs PAKISTAN WOMEN 130 for eight off 20 overs (Sidra Ameen 63; Afy Fletcher 2-20, Hayley Matthews 2-22).
Result: West Indies Women won by two runs.
Series: West Indies Women lead the five-match series 3-0.
Toss: Pakistan Women.
Player-of-the-Match: Hayley Matthews (West Indies Women).
Umpires: Faisal Afridi, Claire Polosak (Australia).
TV umpire: Tariq Rasheed.
Match referee: Muhammad Javed.
Reserve umpire: Afia Amin.