Bridgetown (Barbados) Aug 22 : West Indies opener Kyle Mayers’ fine century was in defeat because New Zealand, aided by outstanding bowling from Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell won the decisive One-day International with five wickets, securing the series 1-1 at the Kensington Oval on Monday (IST).New Zealand won the toss and sent the home team in to bat without realizing that Kyle Mayers would help in reaching a staggering 300+ in the allotted 50 runs.
With opener Shai Hope (51) and captain Nicholas Pooran (91) too in excellent form, New Zealand were able to score a colossal 300/8.
The very first West Indies wicket to fall was the one of Shai Hope with the score of 173/1 in the 35th over.Hope’s partner in the opening Mayers was able to score his own century with 100 off 111 balls, before falling two minutes after with the score still at 173.
Skipper Pooran was able to create a competitive score with the quick and explosive 91 from just 55 balls however, he was not aided by the middle order with Brandon King, Sharmarh Brooks Keacy Carty Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein all putting together only 12 runs.Mitchell Santner (2/38 from 10 overs) was the most popular of the New Zealand bowlers.
With a run-a-ball necessary to be successful, Black Caps stalwart Martin Guptill (57) and Devon Conway (56) got the team off to a good start following the opener Finn Allen fell for just three runs in the 4th over.
Skipper Tom Latham (69) then formed together with Daryl Mitchell (63) to lead the team up to 259/5 in the 43rd over.
Michael Bracewell (14 not out) finally got his hands on the goal with James Neesham who smashed 34 off 11 deliveries, including four maximums , as New Zealand won with 17 balls left.
The Black Caps had also won the T20I series in the Caribbean and will be heading to Australia for three-match ODI series in Cairns in the first week of September.
Brief scores: West Indies 301/8 in 50 overs (Shai Hope 51, Kyle Mayers 105, Nicholas Pooran 91; Trent Boult 3/5) defeated by New Zealand 307/5 in 47.1 overs (Martin Guptill 57, Devon Conway 56, Tom Latham 69, Daryl Mitchell 63, James Neesham 34 not out) by five wickets.
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