New Zealand vs Windies: Match Report 2nd Test

New Zealand continues ruthless form against the Windies as it goes 2-0 up in the series after pulling off a massive 240 run victory at Hamilton in the second New Zealand vs Windies Test match. The Windies were no match for Kane Willamson and his lads scoring just above the 200 run mark in both the innings. The New Zealand bowling was all about sheer dominance as they played the perfect cushion to their batting rattling the Windies batting line up to the core.

Batting first, the hosts put a decent total on the board with 373 runs to their name. Opener Jeet Raval was the highlight of the Black Caps’ innings with his knock of 84 runs. Lower order batsman Colin de Grandhomme continued his blistering form from the first Test with a 50 of his own. The West Indian bowling was marked by fast bowler Shannon Gabriel picking up four scalps to his name while Kemar Roach picked up 3.

The West Indies reply was nothing but a weak one to trouble the Kiwis. The team succumbed to just 221 runs in the first innings with no major contribution from the batsmen. However, skipper Kraigg Brathwaite put on a lone fight at the top with his 66-run knock, but that was not enough to give the hosts a tough time on the field.

Also read: (NZ vs WI 2017: New Zealand Eye Series Win after Taylor’s Ton)

The West Indians came back strongly in the second innings with the ball. Miguel Cummins combined beautifully with Shannon Gabriel and Roston Chase to pick up seven wickets between them. Cummins picked up three while Gabriel and Chase picked up two each. However, a magnificent and gutsy century from the experienced Ross Taylor got the Kiwis to a respectable total of 291 for 8 when they decided to declare. Taylor remained unbeaten till the end at 107.

The West Indian batting did not do justice to the hard work done by the bowlers. We witnessed a major batting collapse once again from the Windies as the team got bundled out to a score of 203 handing a colossal 240 run victory to the hosts. Roston Chase’s 64 was the only half-century in the inning.

Kiwi bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, were destructive with the ball in hand as they tore apart the Caribbeans like a pod of peas. Boult and Southee managed two wickets each while Wagner got the upper hand with 3 to his name. Ross Taylor bagged the Man of the Match trophy for his matured innings of 107 when his team needed the most.