New Zealand won the five-match T20I series against the West Indies 3-1 in Dunedin with a straightforward eight-wicket victory. The victory was made possible by Jacob Duffy‘s fifth four-fer in Twenty20 Internationals, which saw him take three wickets in an over (4 for 35), including three of the top five batters in the West Indies. Tim Robinson and Devon Conway got off to a fast start in the PowerPlay, and New Zealand then chased the target of 141 with 26 balls remaining.
In the game, Duffy may have scored four runs, but Shai Hope hit a four after smashing him for six on the opening ball.
Kyle Jamieson hit and cheaply picked up Alick Athanaze, but Ackeem Auguste carried him for two boundaries. However, the game completely altered in the third over. Before castling Auguste’s leg-stump, Duffy bounced Hope out. As West Indies fell to 21 for 4, Sherfane Rutherford then carelessly threw away his wicket to give it to Duffy. The visitors concluded the PowerPlay at 47 for 4 after rebuilding with Roston Chase and Rovman Powell.
Michael Bracewell, however, made a breakthrough by taking Powell out. Chase, however, ended up preferring Ish Sodhi in particular when Jason Holder hit a huge six. But when the visitors went to 92 for 7, the pair was within five balls of one another. Before falling to Duffy, Romario Shepherd, who was on one off seven, picked up speed and hit 35 off his next 15 balls, including three fours and three maximums. Seales was taken out by Neesham to end the visitors’ innings with 140 runs scored.
With a boundary, Tim Robinson quickly got off the blocks in response. Before slamming one out of the stadium, he then challenged Seales for a maximum and a four. Devon Conway, who is his partner, also cut one over backward point for a maximum. After that, Robinson was unstoppable, smashing two boundaries and a six past Holder to help New Zealand reach 61 for 0 at the end of the PowerPlay.
By taking Robinson’s wicket, Shepherd made his breakthrough. Rachin Ravindra, however, emerged with the intention of carrying on Robinson’s momentum. Early in his innings, he struck two fours before beautifully hitting a six over Chase’s mid-wicket. Shamar Springer quickly put Mark Chapman in the crease after Ravindra dropped to him for a 21. He added to Seales’ troubles with two huge sixes in his 100th Twenty20 International, which ended with scores of 3-0-41-0. The winning runs for the hosts were duly scored by Conway, who batted intelligently throughout the innings.
India
