west indies Kept their courage to win a tough match by seven runs new zealand West Indies tour of New Zealand 2025 in the 1st T20I at Eden Park, Auckland. After being asked to bat first, the visitors made a competitive score, before the hosts came very close, but missed out by 7 runs.
Shai Hope performs brilliantly in West Indies’ respectable score
His composed half-century helped West Indies post a respectable score of 164/6 in 20 overs. shy hope And useful contributions from the middle order. despite losing brandon king (3) In the beginning, West Indies found stability through Hope’s calm and calculated approach. The wicketkeeper-batsman played a stormy innings of 53 runs in 39 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes and took the innings forward in the middle overs. alic athanazĂ© Provided an explosive start by scoring 16 runs from 9 Roston Chase (28 off 27) and captain Rovman Powell (33 off 23) added important runs to take the total past 160.
The fortunes of New Zealand’s bowlers were mixed that night. jacob duffy Keeping the scoring under control during the powerplay, stood out with excellent figures of 2 for 19. young man Zachary Faulks also impressed and took 2 wickets for 35 runs James Neesham And kyle jamison Took one wicket each. However, a lack of control from the spinners allowed West Indies to finish strongly, with Powell and Shepherd adding valuable runs in the final overs.
Mitchell Santner’s late innings not enough for New Zealand
Chasing 165, New Zealand were never able to find rhythm with the bat as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. opener Tim Robinson He performed positively by scoring 27 runs out of 21. Rachin Ravindra (21 off 19) tried to rebuild the innings, but the hosts kept losing momentum in the middle overs. experienced michel santnerBatting at number 8, he made a brilliant counter-attack by scoring 55 runs in 28 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes, which almost ensured New Zealand’s unexpected victory.
However, the West Indies bowlers maintained their composure in the death overs and sealed the victory. jaden seals Using pace and bounce effectively, he led the attack with figures of 3 for 32. Chase used his variations in the middle overs and gave them excellent support, taking 3 wickets for 26 runs. Matthew Ford, Romario Shepherd, And Akil Hossein Taking vital wickets ensured New Zealand were reduced to 157/9 despite Santner’s late heroics.
What a big robbery from Santner and New Zealand đź‘Ź#Cricket #NZvWI #1st t20i #crickettwitter pic.twitter.com/MMOrW4LmTi
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 5 November 2025
Also read: West Indies T20 team announced for New Zealand tour; Gudakesh Moti is out
