New Zealand defeated the West Indies by three runs in a nail-biting thriller in the second T20I of the five-match series at Eden Park in Auckland, thanks to Mark Chapman’s breathtaking 78. With this win, the hosts levelled the series.
The West Indies won the toss and opted to field first. New Zealand made a good start as their openers, Tim Robinson and Devon Conway, added 55 runs for the first wicket. Then came the Chapman storm. He took 24 runs off Romario Shepherd’s 13th over, hitting three sixes and a four. The left-hander completed his fifty in style with a four off just 19 balls in the 15th over. Jason Holder caught and bowled Chapman to end his innings, which came off only 28 balls and included six fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 278.57.
Before being dismissed, he put on two crucial partnerships — 48 with Rachin Ravindra and 57 with Daryl Mitchell — which were instrumental in taking the Kiwis to 207 for 5 in their 20 overs. For the West Indies, captain Roston Chase claimed two wickets.
In reply, the West Indies lost six wickets for 93 runs before Rovman Powell and Shepherd added 62 runs off 24 balls to bring them back into the game. Powell then stitched together a 47-run partnership with Matthew Forde and looked set to take the match away. However, Kyle Jamieson held his nerve in the final over and dismissed Powell with the fourth ball to give his team a narrow victory. Chapman was named Player of the Match.
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