West Indies edge past Pakistan by a whisker in first T20 showdown

KARACHI: In a nail-biter showdown, the West Indies women’s team narrowly defeated Pakistan by a mere run in a closely contested match on Friday.

The West Indies team won the toss and chose to bat in the first T20 match between the hosts and the Caribbean nation.

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Audience at the National Stadium was treated to a sight of exciting moments with the match oscillating between intense bowling performances and dramatic shifts from both the West Indies and Pakistan women’s team.

The West Indies team encountered a rocky start as their star batters Hayley Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle fell victim to a fast-paced offense by Sadia Iqbal and Diana Baig respectively.

However, the Caribbean women came back with a vengeance. Qiana Joseph and Stafanie Taylor first steadied the ship and helped stabilise the West Indies batting lineup with their cautious, if somewhat composed, performance

The mantle for vengeance was then taken by batters Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry who switched from defense to offense. The two would eventually help their team set a target of 122 runs for the hosts at the expense of nine wickets.

Despite the West Indies batters putting up a strong front, the Pakistani bowlers gave their rivals a tough time. Fatima Sana emerged as the white knight for the Pakistani bowling lineup. She claimed three wickets while conceding 24 runs in her allotted four overs.

Similarly, Sadia Iqbal made her presence felt by clinching two wickets while yielding 23 runs in her four overs. Meanwhile, Diana Baig took an important wicket and conceded the least runs among all bowlers with an impressive figure of 19 runs in her four overs.

While falling short of the target, the Pakistani batters played well. Captain Nida Dar impressed with a score of 27 runs off 24 balls, helping significantly in chasing the target.

Sidra Ameen aggressively chased a quick 23 runs off just 17 balls, while Muneeba Ali contributed 18 runs off 20 balls.

Going toe-to-toe with Pakistani batters, the West Indies bowlers likewise put up a strong offense. Karishma Ramharack emerged as a standout performer by claiming four vital wickets while conceding only 15 runs in her allotted four overs.

Meanwhile Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph each clinched a wicket each while yielding a combined total of 39 runs.

The match reached its climax in the final over, with the fate of the match in the hands of the Caribbean bowler Shamilia Connell.

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While Pakistan’s Najiha Alvi provided a sliver of hope to the green shirts at a potential chance of victory, a fateful dot ball extinguished any hopes of that.

The West Indies women’s team won the match and currently leading the T20 series by 1-0.