Urvi Shah
Author, Beyond the Matches
The 2nd T20I between West Indies and New Zealand was played at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. It was a must-win game for the West Indies to stay in the series. With New Zealand looking for another win to win the series, it was an exciting game to look forward to. WI won the toss and chose to field first.
West Indies was looking to restrict the batting unit of New Zealand to under 200. They were all charged up to execute their plan. However, the New Zealand batting unit was in a different mood for the game. The game was in WI’s control as they bowled in the right areas and picked up 2 wickets within the first ten overs. It seemed like they were on track with their plans. The NZ batting unit was seen to be finding their space and settling themselves initially but after the 10th over, the game swung to NZ’s favor as they start hitting in the gaps and clearing the boundary lines more often. The fielding efforts seemed less aggressive and pressure seemed to be increasing in the WI camp. NZ lost its third wicket in the last over but was successful in putting up a higher total. NZ was 238-3 at the end of the first innings.
It was important for WI batsmen to not lose early wickets yet attack from the very first ball to chase this massive total. With the pressure to score faster and win the game, we saw a very quick downfall, and the team gave in to the pressure. NZ bowlers Santner and Jamieson picked up 2 wickets each while other bowlers from the unit picked up a wicket each. The bowling unit of NZ was successful in restricting them and executed their plans well. They were dominant in their batting and well as bowling. WI however gave a good fight as they batted till the 20th over losing 9 wickets and scoring just 166 runs.
NZ won the match by 72 runs and sealed their series win by 2-0. With one more game to go, WI still have a chance to not have a whitewash and take the series 2-1.
Click here to watch the highlights of the match.