West Indies, led by Hayley Matthews, were in a must-win situation to keep their World Cup qualification alive and they defeated Bangladesh by just three wickets, chasing down 228 runs. Chinelle Henry scored an unbeaten fifty in the chase while Aaliyah Alleyne picked up four wickets.
The dream is alive for the West Indies to feature in the upcoming Women’s World Cup in India. They defeated Bangladesh in the must-win clash of the Qualifiers played at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground today thanks to scintillating performances from Aaliyah Alleyne and Chinelle Henry.
After losing the toss, they restricted Bangladesh to 227 runs in their 50 overs. It was a terrific comeback from the Caribbean women as Bangladesh were 134/1 at one stage, aiming for a massive score. Fargana Hoque and Sharmin Akter were in the middle of a partnership before Aaliyah Alleyne triggered a collapse to reduce them to 142/4 within four overs.
She dismissed both Fargana and Sharmin and also castled the in-form batter, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana. They could never recover from these blows and in fact, did well to cross the 200-run mark in the end. Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan scored 25 and 23 runs respectively to help Bangladesh post 227 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 50 overs. Alleyne was the best bowler for West Indies, returning with figures of 4/39 while Matthews and Afy Fletcher picked up a couple each.
The chase didn’t start on a great note for the West Indies as they lost opener Zaida James early. Qiana Joseph and Shemaine Campbelle got starts but both got out in a space of three overs to leave the team reeling at 74/3 in a tricky run-chase. Veterans Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor then took matters into their own hands to add 66 runs for the fourth wicket.
Yet again, both the set batters went back to the hut quickly and at 147/5, things looked a little grim for the West Indies. But Chinelle Henry came out playing shots and her approach worked wonders for them. She got good support from Shabkia Gajnabi and Alleyne as the Caribbeans moved close to the victory.
Even though both the players got out, Henry stayed strong to remain unbeaten on 51 runs off 48 deliveries with five fours and two sixes as West Indies chased down 228 runs with four overs and three wickets in hand. This has opened up the qualifiers yet again. West Indies will play their final game of the tournament against Thailand on April 19 while Bangladesh will lock horns against hosts Pakistan on the same day.
The Caribbeans will need a favour from Pakistan that they should beat Bangladesh and then if they defeat Thailand by a huge margin, the West Indies will qualify for the World Cup in India later this year.
