New Zealand 248 for 5 (Conway 90, Ravindra 56, Santner 34*) beat West Indies 247 for 9 (Hope 109*, Smith 4-42, Jamieson 3-44) by five wickets
Another New Zealand-West Indies game, another last-over finish, another heartbreak for West Indies.
For the longest time, the stars seemed to be aligning for West Indies. After Shai Hope’s unbeaten 69-ball 109 took them 247 for 9 in the rain-reduced 34-overs-a-side contest, the visitors would have fancied their chances. And they were in this, particularly when New Zealand found themselves at 194 for 5 needing 54 off 29. But then, as it has so often happened in the white-ball leg of this tour, Mitchell Santner came clutch and took New Zealand to a five-wicket win, giving them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
With the equation coming down to 40 off 18, Santner took on Matthew Forde, who by then had gone at only four an over, carting him for 4, 6, 4 to take 18 off the 32nd over. Santner then smashed Shamar Springer for four and six in the second-last over as New Zealand required eight off the 34th.
It could still have been anyone’s game, but Jayden Seales bowled a chest-high no-ball, which Tom Latham calmly glided over the keeper before Santner fittingly sealed the chase with a crash through extra cover as New Zealand prevailed with three balls to spare. Seales was distraught, flinging his cap to the floor, sinking to it himself and needing help from several of his team-mates to come off the field.
