NZ v WI 2020, 1st T20I: Who won today's New Zealand v West Indies match?

All-rounder Jimmy Neesham (48 not out from 24), Mitchell Santner (31 not out from 18), and debutant Devon Conway (41 from 29) starred in a tough chase as New Zealand defeated West Indies by five wickets in the first T20I at Auckland. This was after Lockie Ferguson had claimed 5 for 21 with the ball.

Chasing a revised D/L target of 176 in 16 overs in a match marred by multiple rain interruptions, the Kiwis lost openers Martin Guptill for five and Tim Seifert for 17. Glenn Phillips then lifted New Zealand by smashing 22 in seven balls. Phillips smashed Fabien Allen for three sixes and a four in the fifth over, only to perish soon after.

Ross Taylor's run out for a duck put New Zealand on the backfoot. However, Neesham and Conway featured in a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket to bring New Zealand back in the contest.

After Conway perished in the 13th over, Neesham and Santner joined forces to pull New Zealand over the winning line. While Neesham hit five fours and three sixes in his innings, Santner slammed three maximums towards the end to take the game away from West Indies.

Allen and Kesrick Williams were hammered for 32 and 33 in their two overs, and that hurt West Indies in a big way.

Kieron Pollard hammers New Zealand bowlers

Kieron Pollard

Earlier, West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard hammered an unbeaten 75 from only 37 balls with the aid of four fours and eight sixes to lift the visitors from a precarious 59 for 5 to 180 for 7 in the 16 overs per side contest.

Coming into bat at number six, with his side having collapsed, he smashed Neesham for three sixes and a four in the 12th over that went for 23. Three more maximums followed from the Windies skipper’s blade in the final over.

Earlier, West Indies got their innings off to a scintillating start as Andre Fletcher raced away to 34 in 14 balls with three fours and as many sixes. However, after Fletcher was cleaned up by Ferguson, West Indies collapsed from 58 for 1 to 59 for 5 in a matter of a couple of overs.

Ferguson and New Zealand skipper Tim Southee combined to dismiss Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, and Rovman Powell to leave the West Indies reeling. Pollard then found an able ally in Fabien Allen (30 from 26) as the duo added 84 for the sixth wicket in quick time.

Ferguson picked up a couple of more wickets for New Zealand at the death to finish with excellent figures of 5 for 21. Hamish Bennett, on the other hand, was smashed for 50 in 2.3 overs and had to be pulled out of the attack for bowling beamers.

Who was the Man of the Match?

There were plenty of contenders for the man of the match in the Auckland T20I. Pollard played a sensational captain’s knock of 75 not out from 37. Debutant Conway contributed a crucial 41 from 29 for New Zealand while Neesham’s 48 from 24 was also a superb knock.

It was Ferguson, though, who was chosen as the player of the match for his splendid figures of 5 for 21 in a high-scoring encounter. The New Zealand fast bowler picked up massive scalps of Fletcher, Pooran, and Hetmyer to stall the West Indies’ progress after a wonderful start.