Bangladesh seal World Cup spot despite West Indies’ spirited run chase

LAHORE: Bangladesh joined hosts Pakistan in qualifying for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India despite West Indies’ sensational victory over Thailand here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Bangladesh, who won their first three matches of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, suffered back-to-back blows to their campaign as they were beaten by West Indies and Pakistan, respectively.

After five matches, the Nigar Sultana-led side were sitting second in the standings with six points and a net run rate of 0.639.

Their fate, however, was hinged on the following World Cup Qualifier match between West Indies and Thailand.

Batting first in the high-stakes clash, Thailand were bowled out for a meagre 166 in 46.1 overs.

Leading the way with the ball for West Indies was Afy Fletcher, who picked up four wickets for just 20 runs in her 10 overs. Aaliyah Alleyne contributed with three wickets, while Ashmini Munisar struck twice.

In a bid to replace Bangladesh in the second position and qualify for the mega event, West Indies needed to chase down the 167-run target in 10.1 overs.

They could have also extended the pursuit to 11 overs had they equalled Thailand’s total and then hit a six to secure the victory.

West Indies, wary of the stiff challenge, came out all guns blazing and scored at a seriously quick pace but still fell agonisingly short of securing the World Cup qualification as the Hayley Matthews-led side amassed 168 runs for the loss of four wickets in 10.5 overs – just four balls more than the required equation.

As a result, West Indies ended up in third position with six points due to an inferior net run rate of 0.626, compared to Bangladesh’s 0.639.