Ireland posted 137-9, but a stunning half-century by Hayley Matthews set the West Indies on their way to a first World Cup win; earlier New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 71 runs; watch every match of the Women's T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket
Saturday 18 February 2023 13:39, UK
The West Indies beat Ireland by six wickets in a tense finish, with Hayley Matthews hitting a stunning half-century in the Women's T20 World Cup.
Chasing 138, the West Indies needed six runs from the final over, and it looked like Ireland would seal a historic win when Shabika Gajnabi (13 off 7) was run out with three balls left.
With two runs needed in two balls, Matthews (66 off 53) punished a full toss by Laura Delany (1-30) to see the West Indies home.
The result means the West Indies have a slim chance of qualifying for the semi-finals going into their final match against Pakistan.
It is also their first win in 15 T20 games, ending a terrible run of form.
Ireland showed their talent in glimpses but were let down by poor fielding, including a dropped catch with just over four overs left.
Arlene Kelly looked like she had an easy catch to dismiss Matthews, but spilled it to reprieve the West Indies captain, who went on to score the winning runs.
Earlier, Ireland recovered from losing Amy Hunter (1 off 5) in the second over, to set a target of 138 after electing to bat first.
Gaby Lewis (38 off 34) and Orla Prendergast (61 off 47) shared a partnership of 90 as it looked like Ireland would set over 150.
But they were pegged back by the West Indies, who took five wickets for just 10 runs in the final three overs.
Shamilia Connell (3-24) starred with the ball taking three wickets for 24 runs, while Afy Fletcher (2-21), Karishma Ramharack (2-18) and Matthews (1-32) all taking crucial wickets.
West Indies got off to a good start in the run chase, with Matthews sharing a 28-run first-wicket partnership with Rashada Williams (17 off 3) but were pegged back when Williams was run out by Hunter.
The match was evenly poised when Laura Delany (1-30) trapped Shemaine Campbelle lbw, but a fourth wicket stand of 74-runs between Matthews and Chinelle Henry (34 off 28) gave the West Indies a good foundation for their first win of this year's World Cup.
Ireland showed their fighting spirit when Henry was caught by Delany off the bowling off Leah Paul (1-26) but now face an exit after failing to win any of their first three matches, before their final match against India on Monday.
The West Indies face Pakistan in their final match on Sunday, knowing a big win would put them in contention for a place in the semi-finals.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews: "I am the captain and one of the leaders in the batting line-up, we needed someone at the top to bat through the innings and I took that role on today," she said.
"There was definitely a lot of pressure, we knew it was a score where we'd need someone to bat really deep. Kudos to the Irish girls, they bowled well and bowled in some good areas, I am really proud of the girls and teams too."
Ireland captain Laura Delany: "I think we were pretty relaxed, but that may not have reflected in the way we fielded. We batted with great intent.
"The last five overs is something we will look at. We have to be better in the field. The best players give you an opportunity, and you have to take it.
"There were nerves out there for a lot of the girls. We've trained much better than that and it's something we will look at. We were about 30 runs short. Orla is so confident at the moment."
New Zealand kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup alive after a 71-run victory over Bangladesh.
The White Caps lost their opening games against Australia and South Africa, but recovered to all-but knock Bangladesh out.
After electing to bat at the toss, New Zealand posted 189-3, with openers Bernadine Bezuidenhout (44 off 26) and Suzie Bates (81 not out) sharing a 77-run partnership.
Amelia Kerr added 16 runs but when she was caught and bowled by Fahima Khatun (2-36) it looked like Bangladesh would peg back the Kiwis.
And when captain Sophie Devine was bowled next ball by Fahima, it looked like New Zealand were in trouble but Madeline Green (44 off 20) shared an 82-run partnership to help rebuild the innings.
The score proved too much for Bangladesh, who finished on 118-8.
Openers Shamima Sultana (14 off 11) and Murshida Khatun (30 off 38) got Bangladesh off to a good start with 19 runs from the first two overs.
But Hannah Rowe (2-15) took two wickets in the powerplay, including Sultana and Sobhana Mostary, while Kerr (1-24) bowled captain Nigar Joty (8 off 14) in the ninth over to leave Bangladesh 54-3.
Khatun shared a 46-run partnership with Shorna Akter (31 off 22), but when the opener was caught by Rowe off the bowling of Eden Carson (3-18), Bangladesh collapsed from 100-4 to 113-8.
The win means Bangladesh have lost all three of their games and play hosts South Africa in Cape Town on February 21.
New Zealand still have a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals and play Sri Lanka in their final match on February 19.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Joty said: "We are more capable of that, we played against Sri Lanka and good cricket against Australia. We gave too many runs with the ball. It was more pressure with the bat.
"Some individual performances stood out, especially the U19 players.
"I think it's great to have them In the team. They are very energetic and talented. A lot of changes have been made. We didn't play too much international cricket and we have improved a lot. It is something we need to carry forward.
Sophie Devine said: "It hasn't been the greatest starts from us. That's how we want to be playing consistently. We have a big game to go. Today, we spoke about following the processes and not getting too ahead of ourselves.
"We've got the skills and talent, it's just putting it out on the park. Hopefully this has given us a lot of confidence to take into the next game.
"We've probably been building it over the last 6-8 months is the spin bowling group and seamers as well. There's some really promising signs for this group. There's certainly a lot of positives to take out of it.
"We can only control what we can control. There are another couple of important matches before we play."
England face India in Gqeberha on Saturday, knowing a win would put them in control of Group 2 and Australia face South Africa after England's match, having already won the first three games.
