WI Women's A suffer eight-wicket defeat to Pakistan Women's A in T20 Tri Series final

By Sports Desk November 08, 2023
West Indies women's A captain Rashada Williams (left) and her Pakistan A counterpart Rameen Shamim. West Indies women's A captain Rashada Williams (left) and her Pakistan A counterpart Rameen Shamim. CWI Media

West Indies Women's A again came up short against their Pakistani counterparts, as they went down by eight wickets in the Twenty20 Tri Series final in Lahore on Wednesday.

Asked to bat first, West Indies posted a paltry 97-6 from their allotment and that was easily knocked off by Pakistan, who got to 99-2 with 25 balls to spare.

Scores: West Indies Women's A 97-6 (20 overs); Pakistan Women's A 99-2 (15.5 overs)

West Indies suffered and early setback as opener Shabika Gajnabi retired hurt with just eight runs on the board.

That brough captain Rashada Williams to the middle earlier than she would have hoped, but together with Qiana Joseph, added 51 to the board. Joseph, who topscored with a 39-ball 35, which included five fours, fell soon after with the Caribbean side at 59-1 in the 11th over.

Gajnabi returned but added only two runs to the board before she was bowled by Saima Malik for 10.

Williams (18) followed shortly after, and from there it was a downward spiral, as they lost wickets at regular intervals, with Zaida James (12), the only other batter to get into double figures.

Rameen Shamim and Omaima Sohail, both ended with identical figures of 2-17 from four overs to lead Pakistan's bowling.

Much like West Indies, Pakistan's run chase started shakily, as Cherry-Ann Fraser combined with Williams behind the stumps to remove Eyman Fatima (5) with the score at 10-1.

However, Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza, steadied the innings with a 43-run second wicket stand that pushed the host closer to their target. 

So, even when Feroza went leg-before-wicket to Joseph for a run-a-ball 23, which included three boundaries, Pakistan were in no real danger at 53-2 in the ninth over.

From there, it was left for Zulfiqar, with an unbeaten 39 off 38 balls, and Sohail, with an unbeaten 23-ball 20, to see off the remaining runs. Zulfiqar's knock had four boundaries, while Sohail had a solitary four in her innings.

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