ISLAMABAD: West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews scored her second century of the series to help her team convincingly beat Pakistan Women by 88 runs in the third One-Day International (ODI) in Karachi and sweep the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Women’s Championship 2022-25 fixture by 3-0.

Matthews, who scored 140 not out in the series opener five days ago, made an excellent 141 to steer her side to 278 for six in 50 overs. Pakistan Women, in their run-chase, faltered to 190 all-out in 47.5 overs.

Matthews faced 149 balls and struck 19 fours in her career-best innings in 83 matches. She put on 93 runs in 110 balls for the second wicket with Shemaine Campbelle and 111 runs for the third wicket in 124 balls with Stafanie Taylor. She was the fifth batter to be dismissed at the score of 250 in the 46th over.

“West Indies win the third and final ODI of the series by 88 runs,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced in a social media post.

Campbelle contributed a 58-ball 38 with two fours, while Taylor followed up on her 73 in the previous match with a 62-ball 47 including four fours. Later in the order, Aaliyah Alleyne struck three fours in a 12-ball 20 not out to put West Indies Women in a position of strength.

For Pakistan Women, Nashra Sandhu was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 54 runs, while Fatima Sana snapped up two wickets for 67 runs.

In their run-chase, Pakistan Women were formally out of contention after losing half their side for 95 runs in 27.2 overs. Aaliya Riaz (36) and Fatima Sana (23) delayed the inevitable by adding 41 runs in 63 balls for the sixth wicket, before the home side were sent packing for 190 with 13 deliveries of their quota remaining.

Muneeba Ali top-scored with 38, while Bismah Maroof contributed 19 as the two batters added 45 runs for the third wicket.

For the West Indies Women, Aaliyah Alleyne grabbed two wickets for 10 runs, Hayley Matthews picked up two wickets for 26 runs, and Stafanie Taylor bagged two wickets for 29 runs.

After seven rounds of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, Pakistan have remained in fifth position on 16 points with eight wins and 13 losses. In contrast, the West Indies have moved ahead of Bangladesh and joined Sri Lanka in seventh position on 14 points (six wins, seven losses) after five rounds.

The top five teams in the 10-team ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, along with hosts India, will directly qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. The bottom four teams of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 and the top two teams from the ICC ODI rankings will progress to a Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.

The two sides will now go toe to toe in the five-T20I series, which will be played at the National Bank Stadium on 26 April, 28 April, 30 April, 2 May, and 3 May. The matches will commence at 7.30 pm.

MADRID: Jannik Sinner on Tuesday dismissed the idea that he is the best player in the world right now, saying he should not be compared to his fellow top-three rivals, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

The Italian world No. 2 can come within touching distance of the top-ranked Djokovic in the standings should he triumph in Madrid this fortnight and he arrives in the Spanish capital brimming with confidence and carrying an impressive 25-2 win-loss record for the season.

The reigning Australian Open champion, who owns a tour-leading three titles in 2024, is ranked No.1 in the ATP’s Race to Turin, and is 1,650 points ahead of second-placed Daniil Medvedev.

“I think it’s a tough question to answer. We always see only this moment and I think that sometimes it’s good but also not good,” the 22-year-old Sinner told reporters in Madrid.

“I still believe that you cannot compare myself with Novak with all that he has done. And the same goes for Carlos. Also Carlos won more than me.

“I have a lot of respect for both of them. I just try to play my game, trying to understand what works best for me and then we see what I can achieve.”

Sinner has never made it past the third round in either of his previous two appearances at the Caja Magica and will be looking to change that this time around.

In the absence of Djokovic, who has pulled out of the tournament, Sinner is the top seed in Madrid, where he faces Richard Gasquet or Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

“I used to struggle quite a lot in the previous years, finding my level here, so it’s going to be interesting to see how I’m going to play this year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz had no qualms describing Sinner as the game’s best and the Spanish world No. 3 acknowledges it will be tough trying to stop his good friend and rival from taking over the top spot in the rankings.

“He’s dangerous, he’s really dangerous. He’s the best player in the world right now,” said Alcaraz, who is the two-time defending champion in Madrid.

“Probably everybody thinks that his tennis doesn’t suit very much clay but he makes good results on clay as well, he can win every tournament he goes to, and I’m fighting with him, with Novak, to be in the first spot and I’m trying not to let them stay there.

“Honestly it’s going to be difficult. They deserve to be there and let’s see what’s going to happen the next tournaments.”

The 20-year-old Alcaraz is coming off a right arm injury that forced him to skip the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

He said he managed to increase the intensity of his training since his arrival in Madrid and is hoping to be 100 percent ready for his opener on Saturday against Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko.

On the eve of the tournament, Alcaraz attended the Laureus World Sports Awards and presented Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham with the Breakthrough of the Year award, giving an impressive speech, in English, in front of a marquee audience.

“I didn’t feel comfortable on the stage. I was so nervous. I practiced that speech during the week almost 50 times just to make sure it’s going to be perfect and I was shaking, my legs were shaking. I’m not used to giving a speech in front of legends of the sports and in front of that kind of people,” confessed Alcaraz.

Elsewhere, world No. 4 Medvedev is hoping to avoid another on-court tantrum if faced with questionable officiating after his fiery reaction to disputed calls in Monte Carlo made headlines.

While most big tournaments have adopted electronic line-calling, many clay events still use line judges, given the mark of the ball should be easy to see on the red dirt.

Monte Carlo witnessed numerous issues with officiating though, and Medvedev is aware he has to find a way to control his temper throughout the clay season.

“Mistakes can happen. I wish I hadn’t reacted like this, so let’s see if next time it happens, I cannot promise anything, but hopefully I can focus more on the match than on the mistake itself,” said the 28-year-old Russian.