West Indies put up an entirely different display at Basin Reserve, losing by nine wickets on the third day after a valiant batting effort in the second innings to level the first Test. As the West Indies were dismissed for 128, Jacob Duffy shone for New Zealand with his second Test fifer. The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series after finishing in 10 overs with just 56 runs needed to win.
West Indies, who started the day at 32/2, seemed to be moving forward steadily when they reached 50 thanks to a few boundaries from Brandon King and Kavem Hodge. However, King was run out due to a misunderstanding with his partner, and Shai Hope was caught and bowled to Michael Rae in the same over. Hodge kept finding boundaries, while Duffy’s Roston Chase was nicking the ‘keeper, causing havoc on the other end. When the West Indies reached 74 for 5, they took the lead. But when Hodge tried to pull, Zakary Foulkes dismissed him, making it 88 for 6.
West Indies reached lunch without suffering any further damage thanks to Justin Greaves and Tevin Imlach, but the former was defeated by Duffy early in the second session. In his subsequent over, Duffy struck once more, catching Imlach at second slip. The West Indies’ innings came to an abrupt end when Ojay Shields got a top edge off a short delivery, giving Duffy his second fifer of the series, and Rae caught Jayden Seales at slip.
After a cautious start, Tom Latham hit a boundary off Kemar Roach, and Devon Conway opened the modest chase for New Zealand with two fours off Seales in the second over. However, the New Zealand captain closed the face of his bat too soon and edged an Anderson Phillip to third slip. Then Conway and Kane Williamson made the hasty decision to complete it. New Zealand crossed the finish line in the tenth over thanks to Conway’s three fours in Shields’ over and Williamson’s three boundaries in Phillip’s over.
Blair Tickner, who took four wickets in the first innings to bowl the West Indies out for 205, laid the groundwork for New Zealand’s easy victory early in the match. However, he was sidelined for the rest of the Test after dislocating his left shoulder while attempting to save a boundary. After the hosts had a comfortable 73-run lead thanks to 60s from Conway and Mitchell Hay, New Zealand finished with a dominant performance thanks to a clinical bowling display in the second essay.
Brief scores: West Indies 205 (Shai Hope 47; Blair Tickner 4-32, Michael Rae 3-66) & 128 (Kavem Hodge 35; Jacob Duffy 5-38, Michael Rae 3-45) lost to New Zealand 278 (Mitchell Ray 61, Devon Conway 60; Anderson Phillip 3-70) & 57/1 (Devon Conway 28*, Kane Williamson 16*) by 9 wickets.
