Player of the Match
Player of the Match

END OF OVER:
20 | 12 Runs | WI: 172/7 (14 runs required, RR: 8.60)

  • Odean Smith27 (12b)
  • Romario Shepherd31 (16b)
  • Tim Southee4-0-46-1
  • Lockie Ferguson4-0-33-1

That is all from us at ESPNcricinfo. On behalf of Chandan Duorah and Ashish Pant, this is Sreshth Shah saying thank you for your company! See you in 36 or so hours for T20I#2.

Presentation.
Mitchell Santner is the Player of the Match: "There was a bit of spin that was surprising. The lengths are key against these guys, they can hit you pretty far. Back of a length worked well. (CPL experience helped?) I've played for Trinidad, and you find out what lengths work against these guys. Surprised to see it spinning. Throughout our bowling innings we were able to take wickets, very handy since they bat so deep. We saw their fireworks even though they were seven down. (Williamson's reintroduction) It is massive. He is an outstanding player and captain. The way he controlled the innings was outstanding, along with Neesham who finished it off. We've had a few big guys come back, which is nice."

Losing captain Nicholas Pooran: "We were happy to chase 175 but we conceded a few more. We were excellent in the last five, just a little extra at the end. (Spin challenging?) Santner bowled well. It was a slower wicket, but it happens. But we got close, we are happy with that. We are finding that template. Guys are playing situation a bit smarter. Winning and losing is contagious and we are losing at the moment. (Too many top-order wickets) Roles are clear, but they'll learn from them. But I will not pull up any batsman. We will get better. Losing hurts us but we are trying our best, couple of things needed to go in our favour.

Winning captain Kane Williamson: (Pleased?) Nice to get the win. The performance and what went into it was more pleasing. We know how dynamic and gifted West Indies players are. We know that's what they are going to bring and for us it was nice to stick to our plan. Having said that, some things to improve. (Personal batting effort) It is just about playing roles and being clear about that. There are a number of really valuable contributions today, even the 17s of 10 balls that pushes the innings along. (Worried at the end?) Power is always there from West Indies, we know they will keep coming hard and for us it is about sticking to our plans.

Anand: "NZ scored 31 of last 8 legal balls.Wi scored 18 of last 8 legal balls.WI lost by 13 runs. "

6.40pm Finally we have a result, and this game ends with the floodlights on. West Indies fought to lose only by 13 runs, and therefore the hosts will think where they lost this. Was it those expensive two overs with the ball at the end of the first innings? Was it the early wickets in the powerplay that forced a recovery? They will need to have a relook at their notes while New Zealand will know that they cannot take West Indies lightly at all for the next two games.

Santner's 3 for 19 the pick of the bowling, while the others took one wicket each. A terrific 26-ball partnership of 58 between Smith and Shepherd though - one that would've made Williamson surely break a sweat in the last few overs.

Who is your Player of the Match? Santner's three-for at an economy of under 5 is a contender, Conway and Williamson too with their forties, but reckon Neesham is favourite with his 15-ball 33 with the bat, one stunning catch and some solid fielding on the boundary line. We'll soon find out.

19.6
1
Southee to Smith, 1 run, length ball angling in, and pulled to deep midwicket. New Zealand win by 13 runs!

West Indies 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st14SSJ BrooksKR Mayers
2nd25SSJ BrooksN Pooran
3rd2SSJ BrooksDC Thomas
4th8SSJ BrooksSO Hetmyer
5th30SSJ BrooksJO Holder
6th28JO HolderR Powell
7th7JO HolderR Shepherd
8th58R ShepherdOF Smith