Taylor, Ramharack, Henry headline West Indies’ thrilling win

Player Of The Match

73 (90)

West Indies 225 for 8 (Taylor 73, Campbelle 52, Dar 4-52, Umm-e-Hani 2-38) beat Pakistan 223 (Maroof 65, Ameen 50, Henry 3-37, Ramharack 3-48) by two wickets

Stafanie Taylor‘s 73 on the back of tidy three-wicket hauls from Chinelle Henry and Karishma Ramharack helped West Indies beat Pakistan by two wickets in the second ODI, but not before a late twist.

The game all but seemed to be heading in West Indies’ direction when they were placed at 180 for 3 after 41 overs, chasing 224. However, captain Nida Dar‘s four-wicket burst brought Pakistan back to life. West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals to slip to 219 for 7 in the final over needing five off six. Fatima Sana then conceded just two off the first five balls which included the wicket of Afy Fletcher.

But with three needed off the final ball, Ramharack got an edge to squirt just past the wicketkeeper’s left for a four and spark delirious scenes in the West Indies camp. With the win, West Indies also claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Opting to bat, Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof struck fifties, but didn’t get much support from the rest of the batting unit as Pakistan were bowled out for 223 in 48.5 overs. This despite West Indies conceding 30 extras (21 wides and nine leg byes) in their innings.

Henry struck with her third ball taking out Muneeba Ali for 1. Ameen and Maroof then added 80 for the second wicket to take Pakistan forward. Ameen fell for 50 lbw to Fletcher, and once she was dismissed, the hosts failed to stitch any partnership of note. Maroof held one end up as she recorded her 20th ODI fifty off 91 balls. She was the seventh Pakistan wicket to fall with the score on 196 in the 42nd second over.

For West Indies, while Ramharack and Fletcher cut a swathe through the middle order, Henry cleaned up the tail. That Pakistan reached 223 was down to wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi’s 28-ball 25.

In the chase, while West Indies lost opener Rashada Williams relatively early, Hayley Mathews kept the innings going with 44. Once she fell, it was Shemaine Campbelle and Taylor, who kept the innings chugging along. The duo added 88 off 106 balls for the third wicket going toe-to-toe in a bid to reach their fifty. Campbelle got their first, reaching the landmark in 70 balls, while Taylor reached their three balls later off 61 balls.

Taylor kept the innings going even as Campbelle fell but Dar brought about a flurry of wickets to silence the visitors. Sadia Iqbal took out Taylor in the 47th over while Dar picked two wickets in the 49th to tilt the scales marginally in Pakistan’s favour. But Ramharack kept her cool when it mattered the most.