West Indies Women finished the CG Insurance One Day International Series against Pakistan Women with a 3-2 series victory, despite losing the fifth and final match by 22 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern Method on Sunday.
The match was reduced to 36 overs per side because of excess moisture on the pitch. The umpires deliberated and delayed the toss and start of the match allowing the pitch time to dry. The game was then reduced by a further two overs to 34 overs per side as the rains came and forced a stop in play.
When play began, Pakistan women took advantage of some wayward bowling by the West Indies Women, both in the opening overs and then the back end of the innings which allowed them to post 190-8.
Muneeba Ali was the top scorer for Pakistan with 39 while Omaima Sohail scored 34 against the bowling of Shabika Gajnabi, who finished with figures of 2-26 and Chinelle Henry 2-37.
At the innings break, the umpires gave the West Indies Women a revised target of 194 runs from the 34 overs. The West Indies Women struggled to maintain or exceed the required run-rate, leaving too many runs to get in the final overs with wickets falling consistently.
Only Britney Cooper, who led all scorers with 40 and Deandra Dottin 37, offered any real resistance to the bowling of Fatima Sana Khan, who returned figures of 5-39 and Diana Baig 2-32, as the West Indies Women were bowled out for 171.
However, West Indies Women's Head Coach Courtney Walsh was pleased with the overall performance of the team throughout the series despite the back to back losses.
"There's a fair amount of positives with the cricket upfront. We lacked consistency in the last two games, we didn't show that hunger,” Walsh said.
“I wouldn't say it was complacency but we made some crucial mistakes that cost us right throughout. The results of both series wins were very good because we hadn't had a series for a while. Moving forward we have to look at where we are. We have the qualifiers coming up and World Cup after, so we have to address a number of areas."
Captain Stafanie Taylor shared similar Walsh’s sentiments.
"We will take away the series win but I guess when you look back on these two last games, I think we should have done a lot better,” said Taylor, who was nonetheless happy for the series win.
“It's very pleasing, we haven't won a series at home or away (in a long time), to actually win a series at home, once you win at home you can transfer that to a win away, so I'm really pleased we're back up and running when it comes to winning."
Dr. Donovan Bennett defeats Billy Heaven in JCA Presidential election
Dr. Donovan Bennett is the new president of the Jamaica Cricket Association after defeating Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven at Thursday’s elections at the 20th JCA Annual General Meeting held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Bennett, who served as JCA vice-president for 11 years, is set for his first term at the helm after a 67-30 victory.
Heaven served as JCA president for the last 10 years and was seeking a fifth term.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
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.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
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