Even after the failure of their top and middle-order batters, West Indies stayed alive in the contest. With a fiery stand between Mario Shepherd and Shamar Springer, the Caribbean side began to dream of victory. Their record-breaking batting brought them close, but in the end, they couldn’t pull it off — losing by 9 runs in a nail-biting finish.
On Sunday (November 9), New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first at Saxton Oval in Nelson. Riding on Devon Conway’s fifty, the Kiwis posted 177 runs for 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Conway scored 56 off 34 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Daryl Mitchell added 41 from 24 balls, while Rachin Ravindra contributed 26 off 15. For West Indies, Matthew Forde and Jason Holder picked up 2 wickets each.
In reply, West Indies collapsed to 88 for 8, seemingly out of the game. Then came a remarkable fightback — Mario Shepherd and Shamar Springer stitched together a 78-run stand, the highest ninth-wicket partnership in T20Is among Test-playing nations.
Ultimately, West Indies were bowled out for 168 in 19.5 overs. Springer made 39 off 20 balls, while Shepherd scored 49 off 34. Jacob Duffy and Ish Sodhi took 3 wickets apiece for New Zealand.
