Hayley Matthews’ Dominant 78 Guides West Indies to 4-1 Series Victory over Pakistan

Pakistan 134 for 8 (Ameen 48, Muneeba 25, Fletcher 3-17) lost to West Indies 136 for 2 (Matthews 78, Campbelle 33*, Iqbal 1-24) by eight wickets.

With yet another dominant performance, Hayley Matthews brought her dream trip of Pakistan to a close as she had begun it, as the West Indies easily defeated Karachi by eight wickets. With a brilliant 78 in just 59 balls, the West Indies captain easily defeated Pakistan’s first-inning total of 134, enabling the visitors to reach their target with ten balls remaining. The series was won 4-1 by West Indies.

After winning the toss and putting Pakistan in to bat, West Indies showed that their mediocre performance on Thursday was an anomaly. After Ayesha Zafar was dismissed by Qiana Joseph for 22 off 16 balls, Pakistan made a quick start with a 38-run opening partnership in five overs. Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen then proceeded to construct the innings efficiently. With 84 for 1 at the end of the 12th over, the hosts appeared to be well-positioned for a spectacular finish.

But the West Indies masterminded a massive collapse of Pakistan, spearheaded by legspinner Afy Fletcher. Following the top three, only Rameen Shamim, whose late, undefeated 11-ball 16 helped Pakistan surpass 130, was able to reach double figures. Fletcher, Joseph, and Matthews all made big bucks, stifling Pakistan’s batting until Shamim’s last-over burst. Pakistan lost seven wickets for 37 runs. Sidra scored the highest for Pakistan with 48 off 52 balls.

However, West Indies never really gave up the momentum. Once again, Matthews got out to a cautious start, letting Rashada Williams take the early shots. She was removed by Sadia Iqbal in the fifth over, but it brought Shemaine Campbelle to the field, and he and Matthews put up a 103-run stand that put an end to Pakistan’s chances of another consolation victory.

Also Read: Hayley Matthews Dominates with 141 As West Indies Sweeps ODI Series Victory Over Pakistan

As she topped 50 and assisted her team in barreling towards what appeared to be an insufficient goal, Matthews appeared to be hitting boundaries at whim in the second half of that innings. Eleven of them were scattered across her innings. While this was going on, Campbelle cruised to an undefeated 33 off 35, content to follow along as a master was playing at full speed.

In the series, Nashra Sandhu did able to knock out Matthews for the final time thanks to a backhand from Sandhu. However, by that point, Matthews’s work was done and West Indies only needed seven to win.