NZ vs WI, 2020: 1st T20I – Ferguson's record spell, Pollard’s quick-fire knock and more stats

New Zealand marked their return to International cricket with a thrilling win in the first game of the 3-match T20I series against West Indies. The visiting side raced to 58/0 in only 3.1 overs before losing five wickets for one run in 12 balls. Kieron Pollard then smashed 75* from only 37 balls with help of eight maximums to guide his team to 180/7 in the restricted 16 overs.

The hosts got a revised target of 176 in reply to which they were four down for 63 in the 7th over. Jimmy Neesham smashed an unbeaten 24-ball 48 and added 77 runs with the debutant Devon Conway’s 41 for the 5th wicket in just 35 deliveries. Mitchell Santner smashed three maximums during his 18-ball 31* to wrap up the chase with four balls to spare.

Here are all the statistical highlights from New Zealand’s 5-wicket victory during the first T20I in Auckland:

End of New Zealand’s winless streak:

7 – The 5-wicket win on Friday brought an end to New Zealand’s 7-match streak in the T20I format without a win. New Zealand suffered outright defeats in four of their last seven T20Is while another three T20Is resulted in a Super Over defeat for the Blackcaps.

Record spell from Ferguson:

2 – Lockie Ferguson became only the 2nd 5-wicket haul recorded for New Zealand in Men’s T20I cricket. Tim Southee was the first to take a 5-fer for the Blackcaps who picked 5/18 against Pakistan in 2010 also at the Eden Park. Amy Satterthwaite (6/17 vs ENG-W in 2007) is the only New Zealand player with a 5-fer in Women’s T20Is. She in fact was the first player to pick a 5-wicket in the history of T20I cricket.

6 – Ferguson’s 5/21 is now the 6th 5-wicket haul to have come against West Indies in the T20I format; the most number of 5-fers recorded in T20Is against an opposition. Before the game, both the West Indies and New Zealand conceded five 5-fers apiece in T20I cricket.

Pollard’s quick-fire knock:

75* – Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 75 is now the highest individual score by any player for West Indies while batting outside top four in Men’s T20Is. The previous highest was 68 by Pollard himself during last year’s Mumbai T20I against India.

75* – The unbeaten 75 by Kieron Pollard is the 2nd highest individual score in T20Is for a captain while batting at No.6 or a lower position. The highest is 125* by Belgium skipper Shaheryar Butt against the Czech Republic earlier this year.

Pollard’s 75* is also the 3rd highest individual score by a captain in Men’s T20I cricket for West Indies. Chris Gayle scored 98 against India and 88 against Australia during the 2010 and 2009 editions of WT20 respectively.

A game of middle and lower order contributions:

238 – A total of 238 runs have been aggregated by both the teams after the loss of 4th wicket in the first NZ vs WI T20I. These are the 2nd most number of runs came after the loss of 4th wicket during a T20I. The highest such aggregate was 242 runs during the 2015 Colombo T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

84 – The partnership of 84 between Kieron Pollard and Fabian Allen for the 6th wicket is now the highest for West Indies in T20I cricket for the 5th or a lower wicket. Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan put on 77 for the 5th wicket during the 2009 WT20 game against Sri Lanka.

Pollard @ 700 sixes:

702 – Kieron Pollard now completed 700 sixes in the Twenty20 format with the 6th of the eight sixes he struck during the first NZ vs WI T20I. He is now only the 2nd player to smash 700 sixes in T20s after Chris Gayle (1001).

A game of no-balls and extras:

10 – A total of 10 no-balls have been bowled by New Zealand (4) and West Indies (6) bowlers during the first NZ vs WI T20I. These are the 2nd most no-ball bowled during any Men’s T20I game behind the 11 no-balls during the Bulgaria-Malta T20I earlier in September this year.

41 – The 41 extra runs conceded by West Indies and New Zealand teams during the first T20I are the 2nd most during a Men’s T20I game featuring a full member nation. The inaugural WT20 match between South Africa and West Indies in Johannesburg witnessed a total of 45 runs coming through extras.