The West Indies achieved a nail-biting victory against New Zealand in the first T20 International of a five-match series at Eden Park on November 5. This was the Windies’ first win in regulation time in T20Is in New Zealand against the Black Caps, the other coming via the Super Over route.
The Men in Maroon batted first, after the hosts won the toss and elected to field. The batsmen had to quickly adapt to the bounce and pace of the New Zealand pitch, following a series in Bangladesh where they dealt with slow, low pitches.
Most of the Windies batsmen struggled to get going until skipper Shai Hope started finding the middle of the bat. Hope’s 53 runs from 39 deliveries and supporting innings from Roston Chase (28) and Rovman Powell (33) propelled them to a total of 164-6 after their 20 overs, a below-par score.
Matthew Forde, on his return from injury, produced accurate, stifling bowling in the powerplay, as the visitors set out to defend their total. Chase followed in the middle overs, bagging wickets at regular intervals and finishing with bowling figures of 3-26 and the player of the match award. The game looked well and truly in the bag, with the Kiwis requiring 56 from 18 balls and only one wicket in hand.
However, a 23-run over, followed by a 13-run over, all thanks to Mitchell Santner, suddenly brought the hosts back into the contest. Romario Shepherd held his nerve, though, and excelled in the final over to seal a memorable win for the West Indies.
The West Indies have limited time to dwell on this achievement as they prepare for the second T20I in Auckland on Thursday, November 6.
