Bridgetown (Barbados) August 18.: West Indies snapped their losing streak of nine games in ODIs with an easy win of five wickets against New Zealand in the first match of the series. On a pitch that was assisting the bowlers left-arm spin-all-rounder Akeal Hosein, along with pacer Alzarri Joe picked three wickets for the bowling of New Zealand for just 190 in 45.2 overs.
The pursuit wasn’t easy for the West Indies.However, Shamarh Brooks scored a shrewd score of 79 off 91 balls to ensure that the West Indies had a rare impressive display in ODI cricket.
The team was able to took an 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Martin Guptill and Finn Allen made a 41-run opening partnership in eight overs.
When they fell in rapid succession, wickets fell in regular intervals for New Zealand, going from 53-2 to 116-5.
If it weren’t for the contributions of Mitchell Santner (25) and Michael Bracewell (31) lower down the final score could have been less for New Zealand, who fell 10 runs short of the 200-mark.
West Indies put on a collective bowling display, with Hosein (3-28) and Joseph (3-36) being the top two of the bowlers, with Jason Holder (2-39), Kevin Sinclair (1-37) and Yannick Cariah (1-49) also chipping in as well.
New Zealand struck twice in the powerplay, as Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers were beaten by Tim Southee and Trent Boult respectively.
However, Brooks continued to be the leader of the chase to West Indies, with captain Nicholas Pooran making 28.The pair were also helped by a lack of consistency in the bowling from New Zealand, with tearaway pacer Lockie struggling to find his groove.
At the time Brooks was slain, West Indies were 172-5 and Jason Holder, along with Jermaine Blackwood, who was playing in his first ODI since 2015 saw the team cross the mark with 5 wickets and 11 runs to go.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 190 all out in 45.2 overs (Kane Williamson 34, Michael Bracewell 31; Akeal Hosein 328; Alzarri Joseph 336) defeated by West Indies 193-5 in 39 overs (Shamarh Brooks 79, Nicholas Pooran 28; Tim Southee 2-39, Trent Boult 2-49) by five wickets
nr/inj
.
