The dominance of West Indies Women in their Twenty20 series against Pakistan Women was disrupted as they faced their first defeat of the tour, succumbing to an eight-wicket loss in the penultimate match on Thursday.
The batting collapse proved to be the downfall for the Caribbean side, who could only manage 84 for nine after opting to bat first at the National Stadium.
Vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle emerged as the top scorer for West Indies Women, contributing 26 runs, but lacked support as no other batter managed to cross the 20-run mark. The slow pitch posed challenges for the visitors, with left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal wreaking havoc with figures of three for 18 from four overs, earning her the Player of the Match accolade. Pakistan’s captain, Nida Dar, also made significant contributions with her off-spin, claiming three wickets for 19 runs.
Pakistan’s opener Ayesha Zafar led the charge with an unbeaten 42
Despite a couple of early breakthroughs from West Indies Women’s bowlers, including pacer Shamilia Connell and leg-spinner Afy Fletcher, Pakistan’s opener Ayesha Zafar led the charge with an unbeaten 42, guiding her team to victory with an unbroken partnership of 46 runs alongside Gul Feroza.
The defeat comes after a string of successful performances by West Indies Women, winning six consecutive matches on the tour prior to this stumble. The series, which saw the visitors clinch the first three T20Is and three ICC Women’s Championship One-Day Internationals, took an unexpected turn as the West Indies made three changes to their line-up in an attempt to explore bench strength ahead of the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup.
However, the changes did not yield the desired results, as the West Indies faced early setbacks, losing key wickets including that of Hayley Matthews, their captain and leading batter. Despite efforts to stabilize the innings, West Indies Women struggled to recover from the early blows and failed to put up a competitive total against a determined Pakistan side.
