New Zealand welcomed international cricket into the country with a thrilling five-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 against the West Indies on Friday.
Kieron Pollard’s blistering 75 failed to beat the West Indies to a 180-7 lead in the Auckland competition, which was down to 16 more than one after rain interruptions.
New Zealand’s first order disappointed them, but Jimmy Neesham forged important partnerships with rookie Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner to seal the victory with four balls to spare.
This was the first international match in New Zealand since the Christchurch test against India that ended on March 2.
“It was a very strange but nice game to come out on the right side,” said local captain Tim Southee, leading the team in the absence of Kane Williamson.
The first five overs of the match contained a lot of drama, including a couple of rain interruptions.
Going to bat, the West Indies sacked 55 runs in the first three overs before the hosts made a notable comeback.
Lockie Ferguson’s (5-21) double strikes caused a spectacular collapse as the West Indies fell from 58 without losses to 59-5 in the space of 12 deliveries.
Pollard not only stopped the slide, but also launched a searing counterattack, breaking eight sixes in his 37-ball barrage.
New Zealand’s higher order faded early, but Neesham, who was not left out at 48, teamed up with Conway to revive his pursuit before succeeding in the company of Santner (31 not out).
“I hope the crowd enjoyed it,” Pollard said.
“It was a game backwards. He showed us a bit of indiscipline, in bowling, and we also lost five wickets in that space of time in batting.
The teams now move to Mount Maunganui for the final two Twenty20 games, to be played on Sunday and Monday, ahead of a two-test series between them.
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