Twitter Reactions: Finn Allen, Trent Boult, and Tim Southee take New Zealand to series-levelling win

An exciting contest between the hosts West Indies and the visitors New Zealand came to an end with the latter leveling the three-match ODI series by 1-1. After losing the first game miserably, the Black Caps bounced back stronger and gave the Caribbean side a taste of their own medicine at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Friday, August 19.

The hosts put up yet another incredible bowling display.  Grabbing three early wickets within the first powerplay, the Men in Maroon were on the hook right away and in control, leaving the Kiwis completely stranded.  Tom Latham, the acting captain, and Martin Guptill both lost their wickets while Devon Conway was put to the test to the furthest extent possible by Alzarri Joseph, who eventually got the southpaw to smash one onto his stumps.

Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell struggled but managed to hold their nerves and pulled the visitors out of danger. Although the odd bounce and turn on a worn surface made things difficult, the pair became accustomed to the movement of the wicket. Although the West Indian spinners continued to peg away, Allen and Mitchell kept rotating the strike as the innings moved on smoothly.

Mitchell successfully used the reverse sweep before being bowled out by Kevin Sinclair. Until weather interrupted and halted game for a little over an hour, the groundwork had been laid with a set Allen hunting for a big one. However, the interruptions didn’t just affect the game as the Black Caps lost all of their momentum after the rain break.

Wickets fell like dominoes, and Allen failed to get his maiden ODI ton when a poor choice of shot off Jason Holder’s delivery led to his dismissal. All-rounder Mitchell Santner remained unbeaten and was assisted by Trent Boult towards the end as the duo helped their side to go past the 210-run mark and the visitors ended up posting 212 runs in 48.2 overs.

Trent Boult, Tim Southee shine as New Zealand take the upper hand

The hosts had a very poor start to their chase as members of their top-order and middle-order were dismissed within the first 10 overs as West Indies faced a terrible collapse. With the new ball, the deadly bowling combination of Trent Boult and Tim Southee displayed threatening bowling, and in an instant, the hosts were down to 27/6 inside the powerplay.

This batting failure is entirely the fault of the West Indies hitters, who made some poor decisions in their attempts to pursue the ball outside of the stumps and suffered the consequences. After a brief rain delay, Alzarri Joseph immediately displayed his batting skills by slamming the New Zealand spinners all over the field. Injury prevented Trent Boult from taking the field, which caused Tom Latham trouble as he gave few overs to Glenn Phillips.

Tim Southee bowled Joseph out of the game as his team sighed with relief after the pacer went on a rampage and came dangerously close to scoring his first ODI half-century. On the other hand, Yannic Cariah demonstrated sufficient ability with the bat and achieved his first half-century, but he was unable to find any partners at the other end and as a result, New Zealand bagged a thumping 50-run victory.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to New Zealand’s triumph: