Cricket
Shiva Jayaraman, Senior stats analyst, ESPNcricinfo 6y

Munro's third ton, New Zealand's highest score

WI in NZ 2017-18, Cricket

Munro, the first batsman to three T20I hundreds

Colin Munro became the first batsman to hit three T20I centuries with his 104 off 53 balls against West Indies in Mount Maunganui. Four other batsmen have hit two hundreds in this format, including Munro's former captain Brendon McCullum.

Munro carted ten sixes in his innings, which are the joint most by a New Zealand batsman in a T20I innings. Corey Anderson too had hit 10 sixes at the same venue against Bangladesh in 2017. Those big hits helped Munro soar to his century off only 47 balls, making it the fastest for New Zealand in T20Is and the joint sixth-fastest overall.

Munro makes record series runs

This was Munro's third successive fifty-plus score in T20Is. He joins McCullum and Martin Guptill as the only New Zealand batsmen to have got fifty-plus scores in three consecutive innings. While McCullum has a streak of four such innings, Guptill has had two such separate streaks. Notably, all of Munro's three hundreds have come in his last ten innings, which also include three ducks. Munro has made 447 runs in his last ten T20I innings at an average of 49.66 and at a strike-rate of 182.44.

Munro's three fifty-plus scores in the series tallied up to 223 runs at an average of 74.33 - the most runs scored by any batsman in any bilateral T20I series (41 of these have had three-match series). He beat Hamilton Masakadza's tally of 222 runs in a series against Bangladesh in 2015-16, which was the previous highest.

A big stand, and a unique record

Munro added 136 runs for the first wicket with Martin Guptill - New Zealand's third-highest stand in this format for any wicket. Guptill, incidentally, has been involved in all the three top partnerships for New Zealand. Apart from Munro and Guptill, each of the other five batsmen to bat hit at least one six apiece, making it the first instance when each of the top seven batsmen in a T20I innings have hit at least one six. There have been two instances when the top six batsmen have each hit sixes in an innings. Afghanistan's top six had done that against UAE in a T20I in 2016-17 and England's batsmen had each got at least one six against New Zealand in 2012-13.

New Zealand's record total

Such lusty hitting meant that New Zealand piled up 243 - their highest total in T20Is. They beat their previous highest total by 29 runs. New Zealand had made 214 against Australia in Christchurch in 2009-10. Overall, there have been only six other totals in T20Is that are higher than New Zealand's score in this match.

New Zealand seal their biggest ever win

New Zealand bowled out West Indies for just 124 and wrapped up a 119-run win - their biggest in this format. Their previous biggest win had come against Pakistan in Wellington in 2015-16. Overall, there have been only two other bigger margins of wins in T20 internationals.

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