Rauf, Khan half-centuries help Pakistan A win opening one-dayer

Half-centuries from Javeria Rauf and Nahida Khan, combined with disciplined bowling, helped Pakistan A beat West Indies A by nine wickets in the first one-dayer at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua on Saturday (July 10). For the hosts, Rashada Williams (70) and Shabika Gajnabi's (56) fifties went in vain as Pakistan A cantered to an easy win.



Pakistan A captain Rameen Shamim won the toss and invited the opposition to bat first. Anam Amin, after being part of the national side for T20I series, dismissed West Indies A captain Reniece Boyce in her very first over. Williams then steadied the ship, first, with Mandy Mangru (13) and later with Gajnabi. Williams and Gajnabi shared a partnership of 79 runs for the fourth wicket to lead West Indies A past the 140-run mark with 10 overs to go.



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Once Williams lost her wicket in the 41st over, Gajnabi ran out of partners quickly as none of the lower order batters survived for very long. She fell off the last ball of the innings after scoring a courageous 56 off 94 balls. West Indies A finished with a total of 179 for 8 off their 50 overs. For Pakistan A, Shamim, Amin and Maham Tariq took two wickets each.



In reply, Javeria Rauf and Nahida Khan made the chase look easy on the pitch that saw everyone else struggle. Rauf scored unbeaten 86 off just 100 balls which included 10 fours and a six. Khan, on the other hand, was slightly more circumspect with 58 off 85 balls, including seven fours. When Khan got out in the 28th over with the score on 135, Pakistan A only needed 46 runs off 22 overs. They chased it down with 16 overs remaining to seal a comfortable victory, carrying forward their momentum from the T20 series.



The next match between Pakistan A and West Indies A will be played on Tuesday (July 13) at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.



Brief Score: West Indies A 179/8 in 50 Overs (Rashada Williams 70, Shabika Gajnabi 56; Rameen Shamim 2/28) lost to Pakistan A 181/1 in 34 Overs (Javeria Rauf 86*, Nahida Khan 58; Shabika Gajnabi 1/20) by nine wickets.