ICC World Cup 2019: Warm-up Match 9, New Zealand vs Windies, Review – Caribbean lads make the Kiwis dance to their tunes

This is exactly what we are going to witness again and again in this World Cup. Windies have registered a sensational win against high-flying New Zealand in Bristol and their batsmen managed to find some much-needed confidence heading into the main tournament.

Batting first, Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis kick-started things in a way they do typically. Gayle smashed a 22-ball 36 whilst Lewis kept watching the drama unfold from the other end. After Gayle was dismissed, in walked their best batsman in recent times, Shai Hope, to carry things forward from where Gayle left it.

The duo added 84 runs which saw both batsmen complete their fifties. Lewis took a back seat whilst Hope carried on his golden run with some brilliant exhibition of hitting. Their scoring rate was above seven and they were threatening to get a gigantic score. Shai Hope, with a few quick partnerships with Darren Bravo and Pooran, completed his hundred and got out soon.

At that point, they were at 267/5 in 36 overs and in walked Andre Russell. He stitched an outstanding partnership with Jason Holder, which saw them absolutely murder the Kiwi bowlers. Russell notched a 25-ball 54 whilst Holder got a 32-ball 47. Towards the end, even Carlos Brathwaite chipped in with a 9-ball 21 to propel them past 400.

The Caribbean side flaunted their hitting power on the day and raced their way to 421 runs batting first. Hope’s 101 was their highest individual score, but there were plenty of bits and pieces contributions which took them all the way. Despite all the hammering happening, Trent Boult remained a class apart and chipped in with figures of 4/50 in 9.2 overs.

Blundell fires a ton but Kiwis chase lacked venom

They never got going right from the outset and it didn’t seem like they were trying to chase down the 422-run target. Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls opened the innings for New Zealand and the duo was dismissed inside the first seven overs. Ross Taylor, their star from the previous match, scored just a couple of runs before falling prey to Oshane Thomas.

They scored just 33 runs in the first 10 overs as the required rate starting creeping out of reach. Yet, Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell tried to swim against the tide and did a good job for some time. They added 120 runs for the 4th wicket with Williamson scoring a fifty and getting dismissed for a 64-ball 85. His run out turned things around completely in Windies’ favour despite Blundell continuing his onslaught.

Blundell completed a hundred, a much-needed knock for the 28-year-old, which could earn him a place in the playing XI when the main tournament starts. Although there were some good power-striking from Ish Sodhi and Mitch Santner towards the end, they could get only 330 runs and surrender by a whopping 91 runs.

Brief Scores: Windies 421 in 49.2 overs (Shai Hope 101, Andre Russell 54, Evin Lewis 50; Trent Boult 4/50) bt New Zealand 330 in 47.2 overs (Tom Blundell 106, Kane Williamson 85; Carlos Brathwaite 3/75). Result: Windies won by 91 runs.