West Indies defeated New Zealand in their first limited-overs match of the year, cruising to an eight-wicket victory in the third and final Twenty20 International that took place at Sabina Park on Sunday. West Indies also handed New Zealand their first loss of the year in a limited-overs match.
West Indies defeated New Zealand in their first limited-overs match of the year, cruising to an eight-wicket victory in the third and final Twenty20 International that took place at Sabina Park on Sunday. West Indies also handed New Zealand their first loss of the year in a limited-overs match. As a fast bowling all-rounder, Odean Smith claimed three for 29, which allowed him to improve on his career-best Twenty20 International bowling stats for the third time in as many outings. After captain Kane Williamson made the decision to bat first, this assisted in bringing the score down to 145 for seven for the Black Caps.
After winning the first two games of the series by a combined total of 13 and 90 runs, New Zealand had already clinched the series victory.
During the opening stand of 102 runs, West Indies openers Shamarh Brooks (56 not out) and Brandon King (53), who were both not out, laid the groundwork for a comfortable victory for their team.
After earning the man of the match award for his 35-ball innings, King remarked that it was “extraordinary” that he was able to provide such a performance in his own backyard.
“No matter what score we are trying to beat, it is my responsibility to get the team off to a strong beginning,” the captain explained.
Rovman Powell, who was captaining the team in Nicholas Pooran’s absence, clinched a victory in spectacular fashion by hitting the winning run off the final ball of the 19th over, at which point the home team had reached 150 for two.
Although New Zealand had trouble establishing any sort of batting momentum, Glen Phillips was in excellent form once again and led the team in scoring with 41 runs off of 26 balls before being dismissed by Smith at the beginning of the 17th over.
Williamson acknowledged that the West Indies did a good job of adapting to the circumstances, adding that “we just couldn’t open up an end with the ball.”
“Maintaining a level of consistency in our performances is one of our primary goals.”
After sitting out the first two games of the series to get some relaxation, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein took two wickets for 28 runs.
In the third over of the game, he bowled Martin Guptill, which resulted in him claiming the first wicket of the match.
This was a dismal series for the veteran opener, but with Sunday’s score of 15, he at least had the joy of raising his overall record of T20I runs to 3,497. This puts him ten runs ahead of India skipper Rohit Sharma as the top run-getter in all of T20I cricket.
The One-Day International series between the two nations will begin on Wednesday in Barbados and continue for a total of three games.
