DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bowl Thursday in the fifth Twenty20 match against the West Indies at University Oval.
The Black Caps lead the five-match series 2-1.
The West Indies won the first match by seven runs, New Zealand won the second by three runs and the third on Sunday by nine runs. All three matches were decided in the final over.
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner bats during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and the West Indies in Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)
The fourth match on Monday was abandoned due to rain.
New Zealand retained the lineup named for Monday’s match while the West Indies made one change, recalling pacer Jayden Seales in place of opener Amir Jangoo.
New Zealand has won all four previous T20 internationals played at University Oval. Conditions were overcast with the possibility of rain.
The teams will next play a three-match one-day international series. West Indies named its team Tuesday for that series with left-handed top-order batsman John Campbell returning to the 50-over side following his recent test appearance in India.
Matthew Forde, who was called up for the T20 squad to make his first white-ball appearance since rehabilitating from injury, and Johann Layne and Shamar Springer will provide support to the pace bowling unit.
West Indies will be missing Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Ramon Simmonds and Jediah Blades due to injuries.
The first ODI match is Sunday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, with the second Nov. 19 at Napier’s McLean Park and the final game on Nov. 22 at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
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Lineups for Thursday’s T20 at Dunedin:
New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
West Indies: Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (captain), Ackeem Auguste, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Shamar Springer, Jayden Seales.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
