Pitch and Weather

Saxton Oval offered a flat, batting-friendly surface with true bounce, allowing strokeplay and aggressive hitting in the powerplays. Spinners were able to extract a slight turn in the middle overs, while early overcast conditions provided a hint of swing for pacers. Temperatures hovered around 11-16°C with high humidity (~90%), and light cloud cover slightly aided seamers while rain kept away.

Toss

West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first, aiming to post a competitive total and apply scoreboard pressure in the third game of the five-match series.

Lineups

New Zealand: Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Hay, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Zakary Foulkes, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi

West Indies: Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Shai Hope (c), Ackeem Auguste, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Forde, Jayden Seales

Match Report

West Indies started confidently with Shai Hope and Brandon King providing a fiery opening partnership.

Hope struck boundaries off both ends while King rotated strike efficiently, taking the score past 50 within the first six overs. Rovman Powell and Roston Chase added quick runs in the middle overs to maintain momentum, bringing West Indies to 110/2 after 10 overs. Kyle Jamieson then made the crucial breakthrough, removing Hope with a sharp short delivery that was top-edged to fine leg. Santner followed with a disciplined, economical spell, dismissing Powell and constraining the scoring through the middle overs. Jason Holder provided a late push with 18 runs in 12 balls, while extras contributed 15 to the total. The Windies finished on 178/5, setting a challenging but chaseable target.

In response, New Zealand’s chase began steadily with Tim Robinson and Mark Chapman posting 75 runs in the first six overs, combining aggression with strike rotation. After Robinson fell, Daryl Mitchell joined Chapman to form a crucial 65-run partnership that tilted the momentum in New Zealand’s favour. Once Chapman and Mitchell departed in quick succession, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner guided the chase through the final overs, keeping composure as lower-order wickets fell around them.

Romario Shepherd and Jayden Seales attempted to stem the flow with tight overs and a couple of crucial breakthroughs, but New Zealand managed to reach 179/6 in 19.5 overs, winning by four wickets with just one ball remaining. The victory put New Zealand 2-1 ahead in the five-match series, highlighting their batting depth and tactical bowling changes in a high-pressure decider.

Player of the Match

Mark Chapman was awarded Player of the Match for his measured 45-ball 45 and a composed partnership with Daryl Mitchell that ultimately anchored New Zealand’s successful chase.