New Zealand added just one run to their overnight score, finishing on 231 all out within three balls of the second morning. But what followed was a bowling display that flipped the match squarely in their favor.
Windies Resistance Starts Well… Then Falls Apart
West Indies managed two half-centuries, Shai Hope (56) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (52), but the support around them vanished. The visitors folded for 167 in 75.4 overs, scoring at a slow 2.20 runs per over and notably hitting their first boundary only in the 23rd over.
Duffy Dominates the Tail
Jacob Duffy was the standout, grabbing his maiden five-wicket haul (5-34). After a short rain break threatened to end play early, he returned firing, snatching 4 wickets for 2 runs in just 16 balls. His late burst wiped out the tail and sealed New Zealand’s advantage.
It was quite an interesting day. Obviously, there were times when the new ball looked very deadly. I thought Foxy (Zak Foulkes) and Matty (Matt Henry) up top were amazing as they always are, to be fair. And then they absorbed pretty well, to be fair.
He also spoke about how changing conditions influenced the swing: “When we came on, the sun was out a little bit. It felt like, at times, it wasn't doing as much. And then that cloud cover comes over, and the lights come on and all of a sudden it starts doing a little bit more, too. So, I thought we stuck at it well.”
There was a point I thought we were going to be done there at the end of the day, but luckily, we went back out and made inroads there.
Henry, Foulkes Apply Early Squeeze
Before Duffy’s surge, Matt Henry (3-43) and Zak Foulkes (2-32) broke open the innings with early strikes that put West Indies under pressure. Henry could easily have added more — New Zealand dropped four catches on a gloomy Christchurch day.
Kiwis Steady in Second Innings
Batting under the floodlights, Devon Conway (15)* and Tom Latham (14)* guided New Zealand to 32 for no loss. The lead now sits at 96 runs, with all ten wickets in hand and a platform to set West Indies a challenging fourth-innings target.
Brief Scores: New Zealand: 231 all out & 32/0 in 7 overs. West Indies: 167 all out.
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Day 1: Williamson, Bracewell and Smith Rescue NZ as Windies Seamers Dominate Day One
