A stunning death-overs implosion from Pakistan amidst more all-round heroics from Hayley Matthews helped West Indies take an unassailable 3-0 series lead over Pakistan in the T20I series at the Karachi National Stadium on Tuesday.

Another commanding half-century from Matthews - 68 off 49 balls - guided West Indies to the series' highest total of 132 - but Pakistan were cruising at 115 for 2, spearheaded by Sidra Ameen's 63 off 58, needing 18 off the last 23 balls.

Matthews then took two wickets in as many deliveries to kickstart a stunning collapse and Pakistan lost six wickets for 10 runs in 20 deliveries. The hosts fell apart spectacularly, with West Indies sneaking home by two runs.

Pakistan won the toss and put West Indies in to bat. Fatima Sana struck early to remove Rashada Williams, but the hosts ran into the familiar brilliance of Matthews and couldn't find a way to stem the dazzling stroke making that followed. The best they could do was work around her, and although taking wickets was a problem, Pakistan's success in keeping one end relatively quiet ensured West Indies did not get up to the 150 mark, something Matthews said the side had been aiming for.

Once Tuba Hassan managed the wicket of Matthews in the 16th over, the hosts wrested momentum back. Shemaine Campbelle edged one off Nida Dar to the keeper in the following over, and Pakistan ground the visitors down. The last six overs saw just 30 runs scored on a wicket that looked good enough to offer more, and at the halfway mark, Pakistan had the momentum.

They rode on that momentum in the second innings with a blistering opening partnership dominated by Ameen. Five boundaries in the first four overs, all struck by Ameen, saw Pakistan gallop to 39, instantly reducing the target to below a run a ball. West Indies found ways to stop the bleeding, but Pakistan never really fell behind the asking rate, ensuring they had wickets in hand and never got bogged down for too long.

A pair of tight overs from Afy Fletcher saw Ayesha Zafar hole out trying to go over long-on, but Ameen once more eased the pressure with a big 13th over, taking 11 off it and bringing up a 42-ball half-century. Pakistan appeared to have timed their push perfectly when Ameen and Dar targeted Karishma Ramharack's 16^th over, plundering 13 and bringing the equation down to 20 needed in four remaining overs, with eight wickets still in hand.

But having not won a game all series and fallen short by narrow margins a couple of times, the psychological scarring was palpable, and it made its presence felt in a frenzied final half hour. Aaliyah Alleyne cleaned up Nida Dar in the 17th over to keep West Indies alive, but Pakistani panic properly set in when Ameen missed an expansive inside out drive and Matthews knocked back the top of off. The next ball saw Fatima Sana spoon one to short cover-point, and two more wickets fell in the following over, including a needless run out that revealed the nerves that had clouded the hosts' thoughts.

The three overs before the final one saw just eight runs scored, meaning another 12 were required in the final one. The hosts never looked like getting there, and by the time the final ball was helped away for a boundary, the game, and the series, was already beyond Pakistan.

West Indies women 132 for 5 (Matthews 68, Campbelle 31, Sana 2-22) beat Pakistan women 130 for 8 (Ameen 63, Fletcher 2-20, Matthews 2-22) by two runs

Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.

Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.

Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.

With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.

Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase

Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.

Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.

The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.

Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.

Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.

Data Debrief

Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.

He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.

West Indies Women will tour Pakistan for a limited-overs series, comprising three ODIs and five T20Is, scheduled to begin on April 18.

The three ODIs will form a part of the ICC Women's Championship 2022-25, and will take place on April 18, 21 and 23.

It will be followed by a five-match T20I series from April 26 to May 3, which will provide both sides with plenty of time to finalize their preparations for this year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

All matches games will be played at the National Bank Stadium (NBS) in Karachi.

This will be West Indies women's second tour of the country since 2021. They last visited Pakistan in November 2021 for three ODIs, which they won.

The upcoming ODI series will be Pakistan women’s fourth at home, having earlier hosted Sri Lanka (June 2022), Ireland (November 2022) and South Africa (September 2023).

Pakistan are currently third in the ICC Women's Championship standings with 16 points, while West Indies are towards the bottom at ninth with eight points.

The T20Is will also kick start preparations for both teams in the build-up to the Women's T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Bangladesh in September.

Pakistan's Head of Women’s Cricket Tania Mallick said the series forms part of a strategic move.

"We extend a warm welcome to the West Indies women's team to Pakistan for the upcoming series. Hosting the fourth women's championship series at home within the 2022-25 cycle is a testament to PCB's commitment to promoting women's cricket and providing our players with opportunities to shine on the international stage," Mallick said.

“The forthcoming series against West Indies is not just about cricket; it's about developing relationships and strengthening bonds between cricketing nations. The current position of the Pakistan women’s team reflects our determination and dedication, and we aim to collect maximum points from the three championship matches at home,” she added.

Series schedule

18 Apr – First ODI, Karachi (ICC Women’s Championship)

21 Apr – Second ODI, Karachi (ICC Women’s Championship)

23 Apr – Third ODI, Karachi (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 Apr – First T20I, Karachi

28 Apr – Second T20I, Karachi

30 Apr – Third T20I, Karachi

2 May – Fourth T20I, Karachi

3 May – Fifth T20I, Karachi

West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell contributed a quick 30 in a nail-biting two-run win for the Peshawar Zalmi over the Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League action at the Karachi National Stadium on Monday.

Peshawar first posted 147-6 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Captain Babar Azam led the way with 51 off 46 balls including five fours and a six while Powell’s knock lasted 18 balls and included three fours.

Arafat Minhas was excellent with the ball for the Kings going for just 11 in his four overs and picking up one wicket in the process.

Karachi were then restricted to 145-5 from their 20 overs in their reply.

Tim Seifert led the way with 41 while Irfan Khan ended 39* against 2-22 from Naveen-ul-Haq.

All-rounder Aamer Jamal defended 17 runs off the last over.

Full Scores: Peshawar Zalmi 147-6 off 20 overs (Babar Azam 51, Rovman Powell 30, Arafat Minhas 1-11)

Karachi Kings 145-5 off 20 overs (Tim Seifert 41, Irfan Khan 39, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-22)

David Warner has said he is “relieved” to be reunited with his baggy green Australian cricket cap midway through his final Test match.

The opener issued a public plea for the cap’s return on Tuesday after it went missing in transit from Melbourne ahead of Australia’s third Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The search for Warner’s “baggy green” has made headline news in Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joining the calls for its return.

The 37-year-old revealed it had been found in an Instagram post on Friday.

He said: “I’m pleased and relieved that I have got my baggy back in my hands.

“Any cricketer knows how special their cap is and I’ll cherish this for the rest of my life.

“Very grateful to all those involved in locating it: the Qantas team, the freight company, the hotel and our own team management.

“It’s a load off my shoulders going into the last couple of days; I really appreciate it, so thank you all.”

Cricket Australia said it was uncertain about the circumstances in which Warner’s cap, along with a back-up, were returned.

In his initial appeal, Warner described the cap as “sentimental to me” and that the backpack which it was in had been taken from his luggage.

Warner was out for 34 in the first innings of the Sydney Test, his 112th and final red ball appearance for his country.

At a press conference on Monday, Warner announced he was also retiring from one-day cricket, but would still be available for the T20 format.

David Warner has pleaded for the return of his baggy green Australian cricket cap after it went missing from his bag on the eve of his final Test match.

In a video on Instagram, the veteran batsman said the cap was taken from his backpack during transit to Sydney ahead of Australia’s third Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“This is my last resort to do this,” Warner said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31)

“A couple of days ago, our bags got freighted via Qantas. We’ve gone through CCTV footage, they’ve got some blind spots apparently, we spoke to the Quay West Hotel who we absolutely trust and have gone through their cameras, no one’s come into our rooms.

“But unfortunately, someone has taken my backpack out of my actual luggage, which had my backpack and my girls’ presents in there, inside this backpack was my baggy green.

“It’s sentimental to me, it’s something I would love to have back in my hands walking out there come this week. If it is the backpack you really wanted, I have a spare one here, you won’t get into trouble.

“Please reach out to Cricket Australia or myself via my social media and I’m happy to give this to you if you return my baggy greens.”

The Sydney Test, which starts on Wednesday, marks the 37-year-old’s final red ball appearance for his country after more than a decade as Australia’s linchpin opener.

At a press conference on Monday, Warner announced he was also retiring from one-day cricket, but would still be available for the T20 format.

He said Australia’s upset victory over India in the World Cup final in November was his last 50-over match on the international stage.

He told reporters: “That was something that I had said through the World Cup, get through that, and winning it in India, I think that’s a massive achievement.

“So I’ll make that decision today, to retire from those forms, which does allow me to go and play some other leagues around the world and sort of get the one-day team moving forward a little bit.”

David Warner has pleaded for the return of his baggy green Australian cricket caps after they went missing from his bag on the eve of his final Test match.

In a video on Instagram, the veteran batsman said the caps were taken from his backpack during transit to Sydney ahead of Australia’s third Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“This is my last resort to do this,” Warner said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31)

“A couple of days ago, our bags got freighted via Qantas. We’ve gone through CCTV footage, they’ve got some blind spots apparently, we spoke to the Quay West Hotel who we absolutely trust and have gone through their cameras, no one’s come into our rooms.

“But unfortunately, someone has taken my backpack out of my actual luggage, which had my backpack and my girls’ presents in there, inside this backpack was my baggy greens.

“It’s sentimental to me, it’s something I would love to have back in my hands walking out there come this week. If it is the backpack you really wanted, I have a spare one here, you won’t get into trouble.

“Please reach out to Cricket Australia or myself via my social media and I’m happy to give this to you if you return my baggy greens.”

The Sydney Test, which starts on Wednesday, marks the 37-year-old’s final red ball appearance for his country after more than a decade as Australia’s linchpin opener.

At a press conference on Monday, Warner announced he was also retiring from one-day cricket, but would still be available for the T20 format.

West Indian cricket and broadcasting icon Michael Holding has blasted the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to charge Australian opener Usman Khawaja for wearing a black armband during the Perth Test against Pakistan.

Khawaja has been told by the ICC to keep his humanitarian appeal for the people of Palestine away from the cricket field. He was officially warned for wearing a black armband during the first Test between Australia and Pakistan in Perth.

He wanted to sport a black dove on his shoe and bat in the upcoming Boxing Day Test but even that was rejected by the ICC, and Holding says he is not “surprised” by their stance of “hypocrisy”.

“The ICC regulations say re messaging ‘approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes,” Holding explained.

“So how the f*** people were allowed to take a knee for BLM (Black Lives Matter), and stumps were covered with LGBTQ colors?” Holding questioned while speaking to The Weekend Australian.

Holding argued that the ICC has not made their stance clear.

“If it would have been some other organisation with a consistent track record, I would have been surprised, but not the ICC," he declared.

The fast-bowling legend accused the ICC of being “hypocrite” and have shown again that “they lack spine as a governing body”.

Like Holding, other observers believe that by banning Khawaja's move, as well as his subsequent request to adorn his bat with the peace symbol of a dove holding an olive branch, the ICC has inadvertently boosted his message, while revealing its own hypocrisy.

Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt has been appointed to a first official role since he was jailed for spot-fixing.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has named Butt as one of three consultants to new chief selector Wahab Riaz.

In 2011, Butt was jailed for 30 months for his part in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Test against England at Lord’s the previous summer.

Butt, 39, was also handed a 10-year ban by the International Cricket Council, with five years suspended, for his role in the controversy, which also involved team-mates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

Along with former Pakistan internationals Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar, Butt, who returned to play domestic cricket in 2016, will take up his role on the selection panel with immediate effect ahead of the T20 series against New Zealand in January, which follows the conclusion of the Test tour to Australia.

All three players were part of Pakistan’s successful T20 World Cup in 2009 and look set to bring some of their experience to the current squad.

The PCB added in a statement: “When not engaged in selection duties, the consultant members may be assigned additional tasks such as conducting skills camps.”

The move follows an overhaul of Pakistan’s set-up following an early exit from the 2023 World Cup in India.

As well as new chief selector, Mohammad Hafeez has come in as team director.

Babar Azam stepped down as captain, with Shan Masood confirmed as Pakistan’s new Test skipper and Shaheen Afridi set to lead the T20 side.

Pakistan are targeting a late push for the Cricket World Cup semi-finals after a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Faced with a target of 205 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Pakistan made light work of knocking it off, thanks in large part to opener Fakhar Zaman's 74-ball 81, which included seven sixes.

That victory moved Pakistan onto six points, with two pool matches - against third-placed New Zealand and lowly England - remaining.

Should they win both, then Babar Azam's side stand a strong chance of qualifying, though they will also rely on both the Black Caps and Australia, who both have a match in hand, slipping up.

"Credit to the boys, the way they played in all three departments," said captain Babar at the post-match presentation.

"We know how well Fakhar plays when he's going and it was good to see him do it.

"We are trying to win our remaining matches and see where we stand. This win hopefully gives confidence in the coming matches."

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have been eliminated, with their captain Shakib Al Hasan saying: "Not enough runs.

"We lost an early wicket, then we had partnerships but not big ones that would allow us to go big in the last ten overs."

Shakib put on 43 to complement a 45 from Litton Das and Mahmudullah's 56, but Bangladesh were bowled out for 204 after only 45.1 overs.

Fakhar's superb knock and Abdullah Shafique's 68 swiftly paved the way for Mohammad Rizwan (26 not out) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17no) to seal victory for Pakistan in the 33rd over.

It was just the fourth time Pakistan had defeated a team with at least 100 balls remaining in an ODI, having last done so against West Indies in 2011. The big win boosted their net run rate, which may still prove decisive in the battle to reach the semis.

"I practiced a lot after the Asia Cup," said Fakhar, who after hitting three successive ODI centuries earlier this year, had failed to score above 33 in his 11 innings since the start of May and lost his place in the side.

"Thankfully, I was feeling very good in the camp. I was looking forward to scoring for my team, but it's cricket, Today I got a chance. I had worked hard for this and it paid off.

"It doesn’t matter how the wicket will play, I know I can hit sixes, so I was just looking to play out the first four overs.

"My role is always to make it easy for my partner. I know my role, it was to see off the first four overs and then go for the ball. We were just looking to finish the game before the 30 overs.

"After too many failures I was always looking just to score the first 30 runs and I was struggling to get that. I’m very happy – hopefully I'll make it big in the next games."

Shaheen Afridi, meanwhile, joined Australia spinner Adam Zampa at the top of the wicket-taking charts for the tournament with figures of 3-23.

India could welcome back Shubman Gill as they bid to continue their World Cup stranglehold over Pakistan in front of more than 100,000 fans and an audience of up to one billion viewers worldwide.

Fraught relations between the neighbouring countries mean their only showdowns in the last decade have been at multi-team events, with India winning seven out of seven contests at the 50-over World Cup.

They are favourites to extend that record at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which will be a sea of blue as thousands of Pakistan fans have been unable to secure Indian visas.

Gill, the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year, may return for the tournament’s marquee fixture, having sat out India’s wins over Australia and Afghanistan after being laid low by a bout of dengue fever.

He batted in the nets on Thursday and India captain Rohit Sharma, a centurion against Afghanistan on Wednesday, said of his fellow opener: “99 per cent he is available. We’ll see.”

If Gill, who possesses an incredible average of 66.1 and 102.84 strike-rate from 35 ODIs, is selected then Ishan Kishan will almost certainly make way as the hosts look to make it three wins from three.

Rohit, though, refused to divulge whether India will restore Ravichandran Ashwin to the line-up and go with a three-prong spin attack also including left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.

“I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “We are ready for whatever combination we want to play. If the requirement is there for us to play three spinners, we will play three spinners.”

Rohit also rejected the notion home advantage could count against India, adding: “You feel nice about playing in front of your home crowd. They get behind you no matter what the situation of the game is.

“My overall experience playing, not just in India, even outside India, we get massive support. I look at this as a good advantage, big advantage. But you’ve got to play good cricket to win the game.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam needed no reminding of the one-sided nature of the rivalry, with India winning by 89 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in their last fixture in Manchester in 2019.

But Babar insisted Pakistan can take comfort from their 2017 Champions Trophy final win over their adversaries as well as a stunning 10-wicket triumph at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

“I don’t focus on the past, I try to focus on the future,” Babar said. “Such records are made to be broken and I try to break them.

“We were not able to execute in the past, but we changed it in 2021 and 2017. We won against India in the World Cup. We hadn’t done that before, but we did it.

“We believe that we can do it and we will go with full confidence.”

Babar is the top-ranked ODI batter in the world but has had a modest start to the tournament with innings of five and 10 in Pakistan’s wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

“My World Cup till right now has not been as it should have been,” he added. “But hopefully you will see some difference in the next matches.”

Former West Indies batsmen Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith, both produced much-needed cameos but their efforts were in vain, as Atlanta Riders suffered a seven-wicket loss to New York Warriors in the US Masters T10 competition on Monday.

Smith led the way with a 24-ball 36, while Simmons contributed 21 off 11 balls, which assisted Riders to 97 for four off their allotment, at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.

Simmons, 38, put on 29 for the first wicket with captain Robin Uthappa (24), and added another 28 in a second-wicket partnership Smith, who had four boundaries in his knock.

Former Pakistan seamer Sohail Khan was the chief destroyer for the Warriors, as he claimed three for 21, with former West Indies seamer Jerome Taylor taking the other wicket.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal struck a brisk 34 off 11 balls, including three fours and three sixes, in a 63-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who struck 28 from 14 balls.

Though former Bangladesh left-arm spinner Elias Sunny slowed their progress, snaring two of the three wickets that fell in quick succession, former West Indies all-rounder Jonathan Carter and Shahid Afridi took the game away from the Riders, with an unbroken 40-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Carter struck one boundary and a maximum in his 17, while Afridi was unbeaten on 22.

Sunny ended with two wickets for 11 runs.

Another former West Indies player Chris Barnwell struck an unbeaten 28 off a mere 10 deliveries to lead New Jersey Tritons to victory over the Warriors on Sunday.

Barnwell’s knock, which included four sixes saw the Tritons chased down 85 in a contest reduced to five overs per side due to rain.

England will warm up for the defence of their men’s T20 World Cup crown with a four-match series against Pakistan in May next year.

The series will run concurrently with a women’s T20 series and three one-day internationals between the same two countries.

Jos Buttler’s side beat Pakistan to clinch the world title in Melbourne last November and will reprise the rivalry in matches from May 22-30 before flying out to the Caribbean and United States.

Heather Knight’s England will start their summer with T20 matches at Edgbaston, Northampton and Headingley from May 11-19, before the three one-day internationals which conclude on May 29.

England’s women will also play a three-match ODI series against New Zealand in June and July, followed by a five-match T20 series at a number of high-capacity venues.

Following the T20 World Cup, the men’s team will engage in back-to-back, three-match Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in July and August/September respectively, followed by T20 and ODI series against Australia later in September.