KARACHI: West Indies rode on yet another century by skipper Hayley Matthews to win the third women’s One-day International and secure a 3-0 clean sweep over Pakistan here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.
Matthews, who had also scored a hundred n the first one-dayer, smashed 141 off 149 balls with the help of 19 boundaries to help the visitors post 278-6.
The target proved to be a mammoth task to overcome for Pakistan, who were bundled out for 190, with Muneeba Ali their top-scorer with 38.
The defeat dealt a major blow on Pakistan’s pursuit for direct qualification in next year’s Women’s World Cup, with the national side placed fifth in the ICC Women’s Championship table with not many games to turn their fate around.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, West Indies lost opener Rashada Williams early, but her dismissal was followed by her opening partner Matthews knitting a 93-run partnership with first-drop Shemaine Campbelle.
After Campbelle departed with 38 against her name, Matthews went on to put up a 111-run stand for the third wicket with Stafanie Taylor, who hit four boundaries for her 47 runs.
Aaliyah Alleyne smashed 20 off just 12 — her innings studded with three boundaries — to help the Caribbean side further consolidate their position in the match.
Spinner Nashra Sandhu was Pakistan’s best bowler with figures of 3-54 in her quota of 10 overs.
Pakistan, in response, never got going and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
They lost their first wicket in opener Sadaf Shamas as early as in the sixth over and were reeling at 84-4 by the 23rd with both veterans Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof back in the hut without making any meaningful impact.
After Muneeba, veteran batter Aliya Riaz’s 36 runs and Fatima Sana’s 44-ball stay for 23 runs somewhat delayed Pakistan’s whitewash as the West Indies bowled with eight bowlers. Each of them took at least one wicket, with Matthews, Alleyne and Taylor taking two scalps each.
The ODI series will be followed by five T20Is starting from April 26 .
Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024
