The loss left the Windies women third in the Group B table with two matches to go and just two to qualify for the semi-final of the biennial competition.

According to Henry, it was a desperate day for Windies from the very first ball, when opener Hayley Matthews was dismissed lbw by Diana Baig, and her side didn’t show up in the field.

“Everything went wrong from the first ball of the game,” said Henry.

“As a unit, we stuck together and got to a pretty decent total. As a bowling unit, we just didn’t execute as we would want to.

“Everyone was disappointed with our fielding performance. We can do much better - we just didn’t turn up. We have to work out why that happened.

“We have two games to go and we know as individuals they are must-win games. We’re going to go back to the drawing board.”  

Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof, in the meantime, is leaning on the defeat her side handed the West Indies for the belief the unit can topple the giants of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Pakistan have never made it out of the preliminary stages of the tournament but began their Group B campaign with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory on the back of Bismah's unbeaten 38.

The skipper praised her bowlers and feels the result will infuse her side with hope they can progress for the first time.

“We needed this win to move ahead and it has given us some momentum and belief,” said the Pakistan captain.

“We’ve struggled at times in run chases but we kept our focus, kept calm and stayed in the middle. We knew if we got a partnership, we had to go on and our openers played very well.

“We want to play aggressive cricket and get the bad balls to the boundary and the openers showed good intent.”

“The belief is there, but we will take it game by game. We’ll have to play at 120 per cent to beat teams like England.

“The way this tournament has gone, it’s quite wide open and any team can beat the other. We’re looking forward to the next game and we’ll be putting in maximum effort.”

Pakistan were startlingly untroubled in their run-chase, with Javeria Khan judicious in the Powerplay and helping guide youngster Muneeba Ali to their country’s best Women’s T20 World Cup opening partnership.

Bismah, while slow to get started, swept adroitly and alongside Nida Dar, turned the screw on a poor West Indies performance with the ball and in the field.

The two teams played out a tight T20I series in February 2019 with West Indies’ 2-1 win clinched by a Super Over, but the difference between the sides was cavernous in the Australian capital.

Four teams in Group B are now on two points with England leading the way, followed by Pakistan. The West Indies are third and with two teams coming out of each group are already in danger of not making it into the semifinals. South Africa are fourth.

Pakistan and South Africa have played just one game, while England, who suffered defeat to South Africa in their opener but recovered to demolish Thailand, are in the same position as the West Indies.

Sharp new ball bowling from Diana Baig exposed a struggling Windies top order and only when Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle were at the crease did they look fluent in posting 124 for seven.

Pakistan openers Javeria Khan and Muneeba Ali controlled the chase expertly and put on 57, with captain Bismah Maroof’s unbeaten 38 steering her side to a seventh win at the Women’s T20 World Cup.

The Windies top order faltered and found themselves three wickets down within seven overs for the second game in succession.

Hayley Matthews, star of the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup Final, fell for a diamond duck as Diana got the game’s first ball to move in the air and rap the opener on the pads.

Lee-Ann Kirby’s stand-and-deliver approach yielded three quick boundaries as she lofted Aiman Anwar for four over mid-off and then cover in the fourth over.

But she perished on the first ball of the fifth, Diana enticing another heave from the opener who skewed a catch to Muneeba Ali running back at point, departing for 16.

Deandra Dottin’s troubled stay at the crease ended when she tried to drag Nida Dar from outside off-stump over long-on and could only pick out Iram Javed, departing for one from 10 balls.

Experienced duo Taylor and Campbelle steadied the ship, the captain improving on the disappointing strike rotation last time out before Campbelle cleared the midwicket rope of Dar.

Campbelle - who brought up a century of T20I appearances against Thailand - missed an attempted reverse sweep off Anam Amin and while given not out on-field, Bismah’s referral adjudged her lbw for 43.

All-rounder Chinelle Henry couldn’t settle, dropped on her fourth ball as Anam grassed a return catch, but she departed when trapped lbw for four playing Aiman Anwar across the line.

Taylor put her foot down in the 18th over, carting Aiman’s low full toss over midwicket and just clearing the long-on boundary off Nida before picking out Diana on the cow corner fence for 43 from 47 balls.

Pakistan’s opening pair were cautious at the start of their reply, with thick edges wide of the slip cordon yielding three boundaries inside the first four overs as they reached 28.

Henry’s medium pace caused few problems as Javeria cut and then pulled her to the rope and Muneeba got in on the act with a firm drive as the over went for 14 runs.

Taylor turned to spin after the Powerplay but Javeria was well set, picking boundaries off Matthews and then twice from Afy Fletcher.

It took the Windies skipper herself to remove Javeria, who misjudged the length of a straight one and departed lbw for a well-made 35.

Muneeba, whose opening partnership of 58 with Javeria was Pakistan’s highest first-wicket stand at the tournament, failed to pick Fletcher’s googly on 25 and could only chip to Anisa Mohammed at midwicket.

Bismah took 24 balls to find her first boundary but continued to use her sweep well to spin and scored heavily behind square, Nida Dar offering composed support with mistakes from Taylor and Nation symptomatic of a disappointing Windies fielding display.

Pakistan were untroubled in the closing stages, Bismah hitting the winning boundary as her partnership of 50 with Nida paved the way for a memorable Pakistan win.

Scores in brief

Pakistan beat West Indies by eight wickets, Manuka Oval, Canberra

West Indies 124-7, 20 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 43, Stafanie Taylor 43; Diana Baig 2-19)
Pakistan 127-2, 18.2 overs (Bismah Maroof 38 not out, Javeria Khan 35; Stafanie Taylor 1-20)

Chasing a challenging target of 223 set by Pakistan, the West Indies found themselves in a tense battle, eventually reaching 225-8 off the final ball of the match to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Player of the Match Taylor was the linchpin of the West Indies' chase, anchoring the innings with crucial partnerships. Taylor's stand with Shemaine Campbell, who contributed a valuable 52 runs, proved pivotal as they shared an 88-run partnership for the third wicket. Captain Hayley Matthews also made a significant contribution with 44 runs before departing.

The West Indies Women looked poised for victory but encountered late drama, losing quick wickets that put the match on a knife's edge. Nida Dar's exceptional bowling effort (4-52) created tension in the dying moments, but the Caribbean side managed to hold their nerve.

In a thrilling finish, with the West Indies needing three runs off the final delivery, Karishma Ramharack smashed a boundary off Fatima Sana to seal the victory in dramatic fashion.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Women won the toss and opted to bat first, posting a competitive total of 222 runs. Sidra Ameen's half-century (50) and Bismah Maroof's valuable 65 laid a solid foundation for Pakistan, with the pair stitching together an 80-run partnership for the second wicket.

However, the West Indies bowlers fought back strongly, led by Chinelle Henry (3-37) and Ramharack (3-48), who inflicted crucial blows to derail Pakistan's innings. Afy Fletcher also contributed with the ball, taking 2-46 to restrict Pakistan's scoring.

Despite the loss, Pakistan Women showed resilience and fought hard throughout the match, setting up an enthralling contest with the West Indies Women.

In the match reduced to 20 overs per side because of persistent rain and a wet outfield, the West Indies were restricted to 89-7. Deandra Dottin, who scored 27, Stafanie Taylor, 18, and Afy Fletcher, 12, were the only batters in double figures as Nida Dar tore through the line-up with 4-10 from her four overs.

Pakistan duly achieved their target without much fuss as opener Muneeba Ali scored 37. Captain Bismah Maroof was unbeaten on 20 and Omaima Sohail 22 not out to lead their team to victory with seven balls to spare.

Shakera Selman with 1-15 from 3.5 overs and Fletcher 1-23 were the wicket-takers for the West Indies Women, who will now face a must-win match against unbeaten South Africa if they are to have any chance to advance.