New Zealand defeated West Indies by six wickets in the third One-Day International at the National Stadium, Providence, today to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
The visitors restricted West Indies to 140 in 37.1 overs before reaching 141 for four in 39.3 overs. Tom Latham finished unbeaten on 31 from 53 balls, while Dean Foxcroft made 22 not out from 28 deliveries to complete the chase.
With the series level at 1-1, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl. West Indies made two changes, with Shimron Hetmyer replacing Amir Jangoo and Keemo Paul coming in for Matthew Forde.
West Indies suffered an early setback when opener John Campbell retired hurt with a hamstring injury after making six from 16 balls. He was unable to return to the crease.
Ackeem Auguste and Keacy Carty steadied the innings with a 42-run partnership for the first wicket. Auguste struck four fours in his 26 from 27 balls before he was caught by Santner off Jacob Duffy with the score on 38.
Carty added another 29 runs with captain Shai Hope, but the innings changed quickly after Hope was bowled by Jayden Lennox for eight. Sherfane Rutherford followed for four, leaving West Indies on 72 for three.
Carty top-scored with 48 from 77 balls, including six fours, but was trapped leg-before-wicket by Michael Bracewell. His dismissal left the home side on 121 for four in the 28th over.
Hetmyer briefly threatened on his return to the ODI side, hitting two sixes in 26 from 28 balls. However, he was caught by Nathan Smith off Bracewell, and West Indies then lost their final five wickets for 12 runs.
Paul made four, Gudakesh Motie was dismissed without scoring, Alzarri Joseph contributed seven and Khary Pierre made four. Vitel Lawes remained unbeaten on one as the innings ended at 140, with Campbell unable to resume batting.
West Indies had fallen from 67 for one to 140 for nine as New Zealand’s spinners controlled the middle and lower order.
Lennox was the leading bowler with four for 52 from 10 overs. Santner claimed two for 15 from 8.1 overs, including three maidens, while Bracewell took two for 33 from 10 overs. Duffy finished with one for 15 from five overs.
New Zealand made a cautious start to the chase. Lawes bowled Henry Nicholls for 24 before removing Mark Chapman leg-before-wicket for seven. He then had Will Young caught by Pierre for 23, leaving the visitors on 77 for three in the 22nd over.
Pierre bowled Daryl Mitchell for 28 at 89 for four, but Latham and Foxcroft shared an unbroken 52-run partnership to guide New Zealand to victory with 63 balls remaining.
Lawes was West Indies’ most successful bowler, taking three for 39 from 10 overs. Pierre claimed one for 26 from his 10 overs, while Motie conceded 34 without taking a wicket.
Hope acknowledged the difficulty of batting first at Providence but said West Indies needed to find ways to score.
“It’s always challenging batting first in Guyana, but you have to find ways to score runs even though they bowled well,” Hope said. “Some were spinning and bouncing, some were keeping low. You needed a bit of luck that we didn’t have in the last two games.”
Hope also praised Lawes for another consistent performance.
“He is bowling really well and he is very consistent,” the West Indies captain said.
Santner said New Zealand’s bowlers benefited from maintaining a simple approach on a challenging surface.
“I think on pitches like this you keep it simple. When the ball gets older, batting looks challenging,” Santner said.
He also praised Lennox, noting that the bowler had performed consistently on pitches in New Zealand which generally offered less assistance to spin.
The teams will now travel to Barbados for the final two ODIs, scheduled for July 19 and 21 at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
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