NZ vs WI second T20I | Chapman blitzkrieg leaves West Indies flat as New Zealand level five-match series

‌Mark Chapman’s blistering half-century was the headline in New Zealand’s three-run win over the West Indies in the second T20I in Auckland on Thursday. The left-handed batter smashed seven sixes and six fours during his 28-ball 78 to power the Kiwis to a dominant 207/5 in 20 overs. Meanwhile, Ish Sodhi and captain Mitchell Santner registered three-wicket hauls to ensure that the visitors fell short of the target.

After being put in to bat at Eden Park, opener Tim Robinson got going with three boundaries in the first three overs, with Devon Conway struggling yet again. Robinson welcomed JAson Holder into the attack with a six and a four in the penultimate over of the powerplay as the Kiwis reached 47/0 at the end of the six-over mark. The left-handed opener’s frustrating stay was finally ended by Matthew Forde, with captain Shai Hope deciding to bowl the pacer’s full quota of four overs early in the innings. With Robinson also departing in the next over, the Kiwis reached 72 at the halfway mark with both openers back in the hut. But what followed left the Windies down and out, with Chapman going on a six-hitting spree in the middle phase. The middle-order batter sent Romario Shepherd to the cleaners, plundering three sixes and a four in a 26-run over before taking on Jayden Seales. He smashed four fours, the second of which brought up his fifty in just 19 balls, and a six off the pacer in another big over for the Kiwis. Chapman did not spare Akeal Hosein either, smashing two sixes off him as the home side amassed 82 runs in the four overs between 12 and 16. Valuable cameos from Daryl Mitchell (28*) and Santner (18) helped the Kiwis go past the 200-run mark, setting a target of 208 for the Windies. Off-spinner Roston Chase was the pick among the Windies bowlers with a spell of 2/33 in four overs. 

In response, the visitors had a torrid start with Brandon King yet again departing in the first over of the chase for a three-ball duck. Just as the Windies looked like going into a shell with just eight runs coming in the first three overs, Alick Athanaze broke the shackles with two sixes off Kyle Jamieson in the next. He followed that up with a six and a four in Zak Foulkes’ first over as they ended the powerplay at 36/1. Just as the scoring picked up with 13 runs coming in Michael Bracewell’s over, the Windies lost their second opener Athanaze (33). That triggered a collapse as the batting side went on a free-fall mode, slipping from 49/1 to 93/6. However, Rovman Powell and Shepherd brought the visitors back into the game with a 62-run partnership in just four overs for the seventh wicket. With early signs of the match slipping away from their grasp, captain Santner pulled things back with the wicket of the big-hitting Shepherd in the 17th over. The all-rounder had four sixes and a boundary in his 16-ball 34 as the Caribbean unit were left to chase 53 runs off the remaining 19 balls. However, Powell and new batter Forde kept the Kiwis on tenterhooks with three sixes off Jamieson as the equation zoomed to 16 in the final over. Despite conceding two boundaries, including a no-ball off the first three, Jamieson kept his cool to send back Powell. The former Windies captain smashed six sixes and a four to amass 45 off just 16 balls as Forde (29* off 13) was left to score five off the last ball. But the pacer could manage only a single as their innings ended at 204/8, with the spin duo of Santner and Sodhi picking up 3/31 and 3/39, respectively, in their four overs.