KARACHI: A blistering century by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews saw the visitors thrash Pakistan by 113 runs in the first One-day International here at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday to register a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Williams smashed an unbeaten 140 to lead the Caribbean side to a towering total of 269-8, which proved too much for the hosts, who were bundled out for a mere 156 runs, with the West Indies captain bagging three wickets as well.

The series is being played as part of the ICC Women’s Championship with Pakistan placed fifth in its standings, eyeing direct qualification to next year’s 50-over World Cup.

Williams, 26, hit 15 fours and a six in her 150-ball knock after West Indies had elected to bat first. It was her fifth career century and she brought up her hundred in 125 balls. She had earlier taken 57 balls to post fifty.

Hayley put on 102 runs for the second wicket with Shemaine Campbelle — who added 45 off 71 with the help of four boundaries — after experienced Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal had dismissed Rashada Williams in the third over of the innings.

After the West Indies slipped from 103-1 to 138-4, Hayley added 40 runs for the fifth wicket with Chinelle Henry (run-a-ball 23).

Hayley’s brilliance, coupled with Pakistan’s lapses in the field, allowed the West Indies to collect 77 runs in the last 10 overs, including 49 runs off the last 30 balls

In their turn at the wicket, Pakistan were left chasing the game from the very start when they plummeted to 65-4, which soon became 100-6 before they were eventually dismissed for 156, thanks to a 23-ball 25 by Tuba Hassan.

From the top order, only opener Muneeba Ali (22 off 33) and captain Nida Dar (19 off 27) offered some resistance against all the accurate West Indies bowlers.

Apart from Matthews, Afy Fisher and Zaida James picked up two wickets apiece, conceding 14 and 19 runs, respectively.

“Our bowling was disappointing and the fielding was full of lapses,” rued Nida after the match. “We have to take catches and we have to take the opportunities for run outs.

“We leaked too many runs in the last 10 overs and they went to 270. If we restricted them to 220 it would have been different.”

Nida was full of praise for the effort Pakistan put with the ball and hoped the team would bounce back stronger in the next match, which is set to be held on Saturday.

“Sadia, Diana [Baig] and Tuba bowled well,” she said. “We did good things but we need to work on improving over our mistakes. We have to take responsibility; everyone is aware about their roles. I am very hopeful that we will bounce back.”.

Scores in brief:

WEST INDIES 269-8 in 50 overs (Hayley Matthews 140 not out, Shemaine Campbelle 45, Chinelle Henry 23; Sadiq Iqbal 2-38, Tuba Hassan 2-48); PAKISTAN 156 in 35.5 overs (Tuba Hassan 25, Muneeba Ali 22, Najiha Alvi 20; Hayley Matthews 3-17, Zaida James 2-14, Afy Fisher 2-19).

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2024