KARACHI: Hayley Matthews’ dominant half-century, followed by a combined bowling effort led West Indies to beat Pakistan women in the third T20I of the five-match series here at National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.

Set to chase 133, Pakistan women came up narrowly short of keeping the series alive as they fell to an agonizing two-run defeat in the third T20I against West Indies.

The home side got off to a flying start to the run chase with opener Sidra Ameen hitting boundaries at will.

She put together a one-sided 64-run partnership with Ayesha Zafar, who fell in the ninth over after scoring a scratchy 19 off 22 deliveries.

Sidra then put together brief partnerships with Muneeba Ali (12) and skipper Nida Dar (17) before finally perishing in the 18th over.

She remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a brisk 83 off 58 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries.

Her dismissal sparked a lower-order collapse as Pakistan lost four more wickets in quick succession, allowing West Indies to force an astonishing comeback.

The home side needed 12 runs off the final over but Shamilia Connell displayed nerves of steel and got West Indies over the line despite conceding a boundary off the final delivery.

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Put into bat first, West Indies amassed 132/5 in the allotted 20 overs despite a cautious start.

West Indies’ new opening pair of Rashada Williams (1) and Hayley Matthews did not prove beneficial for the touring side as the former struggled against a disciplined Pakistan women bowling attack before falling victim to Fatima Sana in the fourth over.

In-form Matthews was then joined by Shermaine Campbelle and the pair launched an astounding recovery.

The duo added 89 runs for the second wicket with Hayley Matthews leading the charge and bringing her second consecutive half-century in the process.

She smashed 10 boundaries on her way to a 49-ball 68 before falling victim to Tuba Hassan in the 16th over.

Campbelle followed Matthews’ footsteps in the next over as Nida Dar got her caught behind. She remained a notable run-getter for West Indies with an anchoring 31.

The back-to-back dismissals halted the flow of runs for the touring party as they could add 21 runs at the cost of two more wickets off the remaining 21 deliveries.

Pakistan’s ace pacer Fatima Sana led the bowling attack for Pakistan women with two wickets while Tuba and Dar chipped in with a wicket apiece.

It is worth mentioning here that West Indies women lead the five-match series 2-0 against Pakistan.

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