On Monday, Pakistan and West Indies locked horns against each other in the 20th match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl. The match was reduced to 20 overs a side because of rain that delayed the start of the match.
Batting first, West Indies could manage to score 7-89 in 20 overs. The right-handed opening batter Deandra Dottin top scored with 27 runs off 35 balls, including five boundaries. Dottin’s opening partner Hayley Matthews was out cheaply after scoring just one run off seven balls. After the opening pair of West Indies departed, wickets kept falling at regular intervals. There were no major contributions from the middle order except for captain Stafanie Taylor (18 runs off 31 balls) and Afy Fletcher (12 not out off 7 balls). West Indies saw a middle-order collapse as none of the batters could score big runs. The otherwise free-flowing West Indian batters were restricted by Pakistan’s bowlers, thanks to the latter’s disciplined effort. Out of the 20 overs, 14 overs were bowled by Pakistan’s spinners which did not make life easy for West Indies. The four spinners used by Pakistan bowled in the right areas on a consistent basis and yielded rich dividends. The conditions also favored the spinners and they exploited them beautifully.
WHAT.A.SPELL!!
4 Wickets in 4 Overs 😍
Nida does the Afridi outstretched arms celebration#CWC22 #WIvPAK #TeamPakistan pic.twitter.com/mh4az4Dkla
— Female Cricket #CWC22 (@imfemalecricket) March 21, 2022
For Pakistan, right arm off-spinner Nida Dar was the pick of the bowlers as she scalped 4-10 in her four overs. Dar was the wrecker-in-chief as she rattled the West Indian batting. She picked up the key wickets of Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle, Kycia Knight, and Chinelle Henry. She was well-supported by Fatima Sana, Nashra Sandhu and Omaima Sohal struck with one wicket each. Diana Baig, who opened the bowling, and Anam Amin, who shared the new ball with Baig went wicket-less. Apart from their brilliant bowling performance, Pakistan had a good day on the field apart from that one dropped catch by Sandhu of her own bowling.
Can Pakistan batters chase this down? #CWC22 #WIvPAK #TeamPakistan pic.twitter.com/KpcwNlVYYi
— Female Cricket #CWC22 (@imfemalecricket) March 21, 2022
West Indies have set a target of 90 for Pakistan. Can Pakistan chase down the target and register the first win of their World Cup campaign? Or will the West Indies have the last laugh? Stay tuned to find out.
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.