LEEDS, England (AP) – West Indies remained unbeaten in the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup by defeating Scotland by seven points after a frenetic match at Headingley on Thursday.
Scotland needed 154 to win to chase the record, but won the match at 132-5 with two overs remaining.
Then medium pacer Aaliyah Alleyne came to West Indies’ relief. She took three wickets in 19 overs, including Darcy Carter’s 59. Scotland required 17 by the final over but were all out on the last ball to score 146.
In Group 2, only West Indies and England were 2-2, with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals.
Scotland forced West Indies to the ropes in both innings. Tight bowling and fielding helped West Indies to 124-6 after 18 overs. However, the batting line-up was rescued by Stafanie Taylor, another veteran who missed out on West Indies’ first win against defending champions New Zealand.
An unbeaten 47 off 19 balls, he scored 34 runs within boundaries and lifted his team to a competitive overall record of 153-6. West Indies added 29 in the last two overs with Taylor scoring 26.
Catherine Fraser starred in the field for Scotland, picking up two wickets including the bowling of Hayley Matthews, a jumping catch on the boundary and a run-out of Shemaine Campbell at number 36.
Fraser and Carter gave Scotland a great start in the chase. However, West Indies fought back with 4 wickets in 13 balls till 8 overs, and Scotland’s run rate fell below the regulation run rate for the first time.
Carter injured his leg in the fourth over and was dropped at number 19. Although he struggled to run, he did not reach a boundary until number 18 after the fifth over. Scotland went close to five overs with no bounders.
However, Scotland stayed in the match thanks to poor bowling and fielding. Alleyne needed to provide relief.
Ireland face New Zealand on Friday.
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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
