189/9 (44.1)
CR : 4.28
188/10 (44.4)
CR : 4.21
New Zealand won by 1 wicket 🏆
Player of the Match
Mitchell Santner
2/3634(56)*
Maiden from Lawes. Scores remain level. Still 1 run to win!
44.1
1
Jayden Seales to Mitchell Santner
WEST INDIES HAVE BEEN LEFT HEARTBROKEN!! IT IS DONE AND DUSTED!! Full and outside off. 135.6 kmph. Santner hangs back and lifts it over the extra cover fielder for a single. NEW ZEALAND HAVE DEFEATED THE WINDIES BY 1 WICKET!! MITCHELL SANTNER, THE SKIPPER, IS THEIR HERO, WHO STAYED TILL THE END AND SHOWED IMMENSE CALM TO PULL THIS OFF!! The Windies players form a huddle where Shai Hope says some words before they start to walk off. West Indies can hold their heads high as they fought till the end, but they fumbled in the field and dropped Santner's catch, which cost them the match! WITH THAT, NEW ZEALAND HAVE WON THIS 5-MATCH SERIES BY 3-1, WITH ONE MATCH STILL TO BE PLAYED!!
Over 45
New Zealand 189/9
Mitchell Santner34(56)
Jayden Lennox0(10)
Jayden Seales1-42(9.1)
NZ won by 1 wicket
3:18 AM IST, 5:48 PM Local Time: New Zealand win by 1 wicket! New Zealand win the series with one game to go. They continue their dominance over the West Indies in this format. This win was far from convincing, but they did just enough to push across the line. Spare a thought for the West Indies though. They brought life into a game that felt long gone. Only if they had taken that crucial catch, they would have emerged victorious. However, on the day of paying respect to Sir Gary Sobers, the 'men in maroon' have shown fighting qualities that would have made the legend proud.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first. West Indies started off well and were in a solid position at 54/1. However, the introduction of spin from one end triggered a collapse. From 54/1, the hosts slipped to 81/6. It looked like they would fold for something around 110. However, that is when Gudakesh Motie and Amir Jangoo showed some fight and added 81 runs for the 7th wicket. They pushed the score to 162/6. Matt Fisher returned into the attack and accounted for both the set batters. He firstly dismissed Motie for 41 and then followed it up with Jangoo for 51. The tail could not add much, and the West Indies were bowled out for 188. The pick of the bowlers were Matt Fisher (3/40), Michael Bracewell (2/35) and Mitch Santner (2/36).
The chase was always going to be about having a couple of good partnerships. However, it did not start on the best note for the visitors. Matthew Forde got rid of Henry Nicholls for a duck. He followed it up by removing Nick Kelly for just 3. The visitors were reeling at 6-2. Mark Chapman walked in at that stage and notched up 3 crucial partnerships to push New Zealand into the ascendancy. He first added 40 runs with Will Young before the latter was caught behind for 20. Chapman then added 31 with Tom Latham in which the latter just added 5 and departed.
New Zealand were 77/4 at that stage and it felt like West Indies were in the game. However, the partnership that followed killed the chase completely. Chapman added 65 runs with Michael Bracewell for the 5th wicket. Chapman crossed 50 and made sure New Zealand were in the driver's seat. He finally fell for 80 as he mistimed a slog sweep down the throat of deep backward square leg. The score stood at 142/5 at that moment with the visitors requiring another 44 runs.
It seemed like New Zealand had the game in their pocket and that is when rain entered to add more drama. The players went off for 30 minutes. When they returned, Gudakesh Motie struck with his very first ball to remove Bracewell for 32. Mitch Santner was all of a sudden stranded with the lower order. Nathan Smith pushed the ball around for his 8 before he was cleaned up by Alzarri Joseph. The score stood at 166/7. It soon became 167/8 when Jacob Duffy was cleaned up in the next over for 1 by Motie.
Matthew Fisher added 13 runs with Santner for the second last wicket before Motie accounted for him to bring up his fifth wicket of the match. It came down to New Zealand needing 9 runs for victory with one wicket in hand. Santner found a crucial boundary. However, when it came down to 3 runs to win, he skied one.
Justin Greaves and Ackeem Auguste did not have communication between them and collided to spill what would have been a series levelling catch. Eventually Santner hit the winning runs. The pick of the bowlers from West Indies were Gudakesh Motie (5-47) and Matthew Forde (2-44). Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joesph pitched in with a wicket each.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first. West Indies started off well and were in a solid position at 54/1. However, the introduction of spin from one end triggered a collapse. From 54/1, the hosts slipped to 81/6. It looked like they would fold for something around 110. However, that is when Gudakesh Motie and Amir Jangoo showed some fight and added 81 runs for the 7th wicket. They pushed the score to 162/6. Matt Fisher returned into the attack and accounted for both the set batters. He firstly dismissed Motie for 41 and then followed it up with Jangoo for 51. The tail could not add much, and the West Indies were bowled out for 188. The pick of the bowlers were Matt Fisher (3/40), Michael Bracewell (2/35) and Mitch Santner (2/36).
The chase was always going to be about having a couple of good partnerships. However, it did not start on the best note for the visitors. Matthew Forde got rid of Henry Nicholls for a duck. He followed it up by removing Nick Kelly for just 3. The visitors were reeling at 6-2. Mark Chapman walked in at that stage and notched up 3 crucial partnerships to push New Zealand into the ascendancy. He first added 40 runs with Will Young before the latter was caught behind for 20. Chapman then added 31 with Tom Latham in which the latter just added 5 and departed.
New Zealand were 77/4 at that stage and it felt like West Indies were in the game. However, the partnership that followed killed the chase completely. Chapman added 65 runs with Michael Bracewell for the 5th wicket. Chapman crossed 50 and made sure New Zealand were in the driver's seat. He finally fell for 80 as he mistimed a slog sweep down the throat of deep backward square leg. The score stood at 142/5 at that moment with the visitors requiring another 44 runs.
It seemed like New Zealand had the game in their pocket and that is when rain entered to add more drama. The players went off for 30 minutes. When they returned, Gudakesh Motie struck with his very first ball to remove Bracewell for 32. Mitch Santner was all of a sudden stranded with the lower order. Nathan Smith pushed the ball around for his 8 before he was cleaned up by Alzarri Joseph. The score stood at 166/7. It soon became 167/8 when Jacob Duffy was cleaned up in the next over for 1 by Motie.
Matthew Fisher added 13 runs with Santner for the second last wicket before Motie accounted for him to bring up his fifth wicket of the match. It came down to New Zealand needing 9 runs for victory with one wicket in hand. Santner found a crucial boundary. However, when it came down to 3 runs to win, he skied one.
Justin Greaves and Ackeem Auguste did not have communication between them and collided to spill what would have been a series levelling catch. Eventually Santner hit the winning runs. The pick of the bowlers from West Indies were Gudakesh Motie (5-47) and Matthew Forde (2-44). Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joesph pitched in with a wicket each.
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
Shai Hope (West Indies Captain): (On the narrow defeat) "It hasn't really sunk in yet. It was a fantastic game of cricket, especially for the neutral fans. If you were watching without supporting either side, you would have really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, we wanted the win because we're trying to qualify automatically for the World Cup, and this result makes that much more difficult. Even so, I have to commend the guys for the fight they showed throughout the game.
(On West Indies' batting performance) We were well under par, and I have to be honest about that. Batting first in the Caribbean is always challenging, but it's certainly not a 188-run challenge. We still need to apply ourselves much better and adapt to the conditions far more quickly. As elite batters, that's the standard we should hold ourselves to. We need to show more intent, especially at the top of the order, and take greater responsibility. That includes me as well. This wasn't an 188-run surface. It was challenging, but when you're playing against the second-ranked team in the world, 180 is simply not enough.
(On the bowling effort) When you ask the bowlers to defend 188, there's only so much you can expect, but they always put their hands up. I have to commend them for the way they fought. It was great to see Gudakesh Motie back in form and bowling so well. Matthew Forde continued what he started in Guyana, and Alzarri Joseph produced another very consistent spell that helped bring us back into the contest. The bowlers gave everything, but as batters, we have to put our hands up and do better.
(On playing in memory of Sir Garfield Sobers and the support from the fans) Thank you to everyone who came out to support us at Kensington. It's home for me, and I know the rest of the team feels the same whenever we play here. We always feel the love and the atmosphere from the crowd. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the win in honour of Sir Gary Sobers, but hopefully we can turn things around in the next game.
(On the road ahead) Automatic qualification for the World Cup has become extremely difficult, but we'll keep fighting and look to finish the series strongly."
(On West Indies' batting performance) We were well under par, and I have to be honest about that. Batting first in the Caribbean is always challenging, but it's certainly not a 188-run challenge. We still need to apply ourselves much better and adapt to the conditions far more quickly. As elite batters, that's the standard we should hold ourselves to. We need to show more intent, especially at the top of the order, and take greater responsibility. That includes me as well. This wasn't an 188-run surface. It was challenging, but when you're playing against the second-ranked team in the world, 180 is simply not enough.
(On the bowling effort) When you ask the bowlers to defend 188, there's only so much you can expect, but they always put their hands up. I have to commend them for the way they fought. It was great to see Gudakesh Motie back in form and bowling so well. Matthew Forde continued what he started in Guyana, and Alzarri Joseph produced another very consistent spell that helped bring us back into the contest. The bowlers gave everything, but as batters, we have to put our hands up and do better.
(On playing in memory of Sir Garfield Sobers and the support from the fans) Thank you to everyone who came out to support us at Kensington. It's home for me, and I know the rest of the team feels the same whenever we play here. We always feel the love and the atmosphere from the crowd. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the win in honour of Sir Gary Sobers, but hopefully we can turn things around in the next game.
(On the road ahead) Automatic qualification for the World Cup has become extremely difficult, but we'll keep fighting and look to finish the series strongly."
Player of the Match: Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner (New Zealan Captain and POTM): "[On the close finish] Yeah, it was pretty chaotic. Especially the ending. I guess you try and chip off the totals as much as you can. Even partnerships of 10 and 15 go a long way in those situations. It probably should not have gone that close, but it nice to get over the line.
[On the bowling effort] Yeah, for sure. I think it was a little tacky early this morning. The seamers started us off well and then the spinners got into their work. Yeah, we were very happy with the return of 188, but we knew how good the West Indies bowlers are. Yeah, they were pretty good today.
[On batting with the tail] It was always the challenge. It is also part of your role when you bat with the lower order. I guess, because the target was not a lot, we did not have the pressure of time. We could play a few dots. It was about not exposing the tail too much. Alzarri was flying and getting the ball to reverse which was pretty challenging. Obviously, Motie too bowled pretty outstanding. His 5-fer was very good.
[What was the chat with Jayden Lennox?] You just play straight and block it. I will try and get 12 runs.
[What can we expect from NZ in the final ODI?] Yeah, another performance like that. The pitch will probably play similar. A day-night game and the ball will skid on a bit maybe. So, I think if we end up bowling first, we will have to do the job with the ball and keep simple plans. With the bat, we know how good they are with the ball. Alzarri, Seales, Forde was outstanding as well. We know what we are in for."
[On the bowling effort] Yeah, for sure. I think it was a little tacky early this morning. The seamers started us off well and then the spinners got into their work. Yeah, we were very happy with the return of 188, but we knew how good the West Indies bowlers are. Yeah, they were pretty good today.
[On batting with the tail] It was always the challenge. It is also part of your role when you bat with the lower order. I guess, because the target was not a lot, we did not have the pressure of time. We could play a few dots. It was about not exposing the tail too much. Alzarri was flying and getting the ball to reverse which was pretty challenging. Obviously, Motie too bowled pretty outstanding. His 5-fer was very good.
[What was the chat with Jayden Lennox?] You just play straight and block it. I will try and get 12 runs.
[What can we expect from NZ in the final ODI?] Yeah, another performance like that. The pitch will probably play similar. A day-night game and the ball will skid on a bit maybe. So, I think if we end up bowling first, we will have to do the job with the ball and keep simple plans. With the bat, we know how good they are with the ball. Alzarri, Seales, Forde was outstanding as well. We know what we are in for."
It has been a fitting tribute to Sir Gary Sobers by both the teams on display today. The legendary West Indian was renowned to have played hard-fought cricket. Well, that is exactly what we saw from West Indies and New Zealand in this 4th ODI. Eventually, some crucial unforced errors cost West Indies the game and they have lost the series 3-1 with a game left.
West Indies will play for pride in the final ODI. It will take place on the 22nd of July at 12 Midnight IST (21st July & 2:30 PM Local Time) in Barbados itself.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Ashok Dayma. See you!
West Indies will play for pride in the final ODI. It will take place on the 22nd of July at 12 Midnight IST (21st July & 2:30 PM Local Time) in Barbados itself.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Ashok Dayma. See you!