On Wednesday, November 5, West Indies defeated New Zealand by seven runs in the first T20I, to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at the Eden Park in Auckland. After setting up a below par target
of 165 runs for New Zealand to chase down, West Indies were in a winning position when they reduced the hosts to 107/9 before their captain Mitchell Santner scored a breezy fifty in a last wicket stand with Jacob Duffy but it wasn’t enough to get across the finish line.
Earlier, after winning the toss, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner had no hesitation to bowl first on a ground which is known for its short straight boundaries, arguably the shortest in the world. Jacob Duffy took the key wicket of Brandon King in the first over to give the perfect start to New Zealand before Kyle Jamieson got the better of Alick Athanaze for 16 off 9.
James Neesham dismissed newcomer Ackeem Auguste cheaply before West Indies captain Shai Hope shared a key 44-run stand for the fourth wicket with Roston Chase. Hope scored a well-compiled 53 off 39 with four fours and three sixes before former captain Rovman Powell took control of the West Indies in a 49-run stand for the fifth wicket with Chase, who mostly focused on rotating the strike.
With the help of two fours and two sixes, Powell scored 33 off 23 and played a key role in taking West Indies up to 164/5 in their allotted 20 overs while Chase scored 27 off 28. Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes two wickets apiece for New Zealand before their pursuit of the target began on a decent note until the dismissal of Devon Conway for 13 off 12, getting cleaned up by Matthew Forde.
Tim Robinson (27 off 21) and Rachin Ravindra (21 off 19) were batting well during the first half of the New Zealand innings but following their dismissals to Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein, the hosts fell away drastically with the bat. They lost 37/7 in just seven overs with Jayden Seales and player of the match Roston Chase taking three each, to find themselves 58 runs off the target with just 20 balls remaining and one wicket in hand in the contest.
But then Santner scored 23 runs in the 18th over bowled by Forde to give the hosts a glimmer of hope, to steal a win from the jaws of defeat. The New Zealand captain also hit four fours and one six in the last two overs but it was too little too late from him just like his innings of 55* from 28 with eight fours and two sixes.
