Iqbal, Dar, Zafar consign West Indies to their first loss of the tour

Pakistan secured their first win of the tour, beating West Indies by eight wickets after a comprehensive all-round performance. It came thanks to a clinical all-round performance after the visitors won the toss and batted first, with Sadia Iqbal and Nida Dar taking three wickets each to skittle West Indies out for 84. There were no real jitters in the chase despite the manner of Pakistan’s defeat in the third T20I, and, spearheaded by Avesha Zafar  they eased to victory with 21 balls to spare.

A day after Pakistan named a near unchanged squad for the upcoming tour of England, the players repaid that faith with what was by far the most impressive performance of the tour. Despite the series having slipped out of Pakistan’s reach, they began with a sharpness and urgency that belied how little was truly on the line.

Qina Joseph was caught out of her crease off Iqbal and stumped first ball to set the tone. But it was the wicket of Hayley Matthews, West Indies’ talismanic captain and the outstanding performer of the series, that gave Pakistan true belief. After an uncharacteristic struggle, she was caught off Fatima Sana’s bowling after managing just a run in nine balls.

Shemaine Campbelle was the only batter who scored runs and pushed the run rate up but was run out at an inopportune time after a 20-ball 26. The dismissal opened the floodgates as Pakistan took complete control thereafter, with four wickets falling for as many runs towards the death overs as West Indies stuttered along to 84 for 9.

Pakistan had made hard work of an eminently gettable target late on in the third T20I, but there appeared no such danger today right from the outset. A breezy cameo from Sidra Ameen set the tone early, and when she and Muneeba Ali fell in quick succession, Zafar and Gull Feroza took complete control. Zafar in particular was in great touch finding the gaps and the occasional boundary to keep the score ticking over. Some sloppiness leaked into West Indies’ game as two relatively simple catches were put down off Matthews’ bowling, but in truth, the game was a foregone conclusion by then.

Appropriately, the game ended with one of the shots of the day from Zafar, who lofted a half-volley over mid-on for an elegant boundary to make the win official.

Brief scores:
Pakistan Women  87 for 2 in 16.3 overs  (Ayesha Zafar 42*, Gull Feroza 21*; Shamilia Conell 1-08, Afy Fletcher 1-06) beat  West Indies Women  84 for 9 in 20 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 26; Sadia Iqbal 3-18, Nida Dar 3-19, Nashra Sandhu 1-14, Rameen Shamin 1-21)  by 8 wickets

(Cricinfo)