The West Indies have fallen to a series defeat following an eight-wicket loss to New Zealand on November 12 in the final T20 international. Unlike other games in the five-match series, this fixture, played at the University Oval in Dunedin, did not go down to the wire. The hosts won comfortably in front of a packed house, an anticlimactic end to what had, until this game, been a highly competitive battle between the two teams.
The Men in Maroon entered the fixture knowing that a victory would level the series at two games apiece, following a rained-out Game 4.
The boys from the Caribbean were put in to bat and lost four wickets very early in the match, all in the powerplay. They slid further to 48-5, in desperate need of a rebuilding partnership. Roston Chase and Jason Holder put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket before Chase lost his wicket, with Holder following soon after.
The Windies looked well set to be dismissed for under 100, but Romario Shepherd had other ideas. He scored a quickfire 36 runs off 22 balls,to lift the Boys from the Caribbean to 140 all out. Jacob Duffy was the chief destroyer with the ball for the hosts, bagging 4-35.
The Black Caps made light work of the chase for the most part, with Devon Conway’s 47 runs off 42 balls and Tim Robinson’s 45 off 24 balls laying the foundation for victory. While there were moments of brilliance with the ball from the Windies, including Shamar Springer’s 1-8 and another economical outing for Mathew Forde, the total was ultimately too small and the hosts completed their chase within 16 overs.
Captain Shai Hope highlighted areas of deficiency in his team’s performance, but noted that he was happy with the team’s overall efforts.
“We have spoken about putting good bowling under pressure,” he said. “That [powerplay batting] is maybe one of our Achilles heels. Did not work out for us [today], something we need to work on moving forward. Good sign that the lower order is putting their hands up.
“One of those places where you need to get a nice preparation phase. No excuse, but it would certainly help in conditions like this, which we don’t face back home. Something we need to focus on, more mentally than physically or skill-wise, and to be ready when the first ball is bowled. Not sure we were ready today, but got to commend the boys.”
More white ball action is on the horizon. The Men in Maroon will now face the Black Caps in three One Day Internationals beginning on Saturday.
