New Zealand inflicted a further defeat on the West Indies in their second Twenty20 international yesterday to bring a dismal end to the visiting team’s tour.
The four-wicket win gave New Zealand the Twenty20 series 2-0, to go with their 2-0 win in the Tests. The one-day internationals were shared 2-2 — the West Indies’ only success on their six-week tour.
After New Zealand won the first Twenty20 by 81 runs, they were struggling at 79-5 in the second match before a 68-run partnership between Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi turned the innings around.
Taylor played the anchor role with 39 off 41 balls, while Ronchi belted an unbeaten 51 off 28 deliveries in an innings that included four fours and two sixes.
The pair were particularly harsh on West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo in the 15th over, when they took 17 runs to reduce the target from 54 off 36 balls to a more manageable 37 off 30.
They then took 15 off the 17th over by Jason Holder and although Taylor gave his wicket away with a mistimed slog-sweep to Chadwick Walton at deep midwicket, New Zealand were then in a position to coast to victory.
The outcome could have been different had the West Indies been more alert with their fielding.
Jesse Ryder was dropped twice as he raced to a quick 23 in nine balls, while Brendon McCullum received a life on his way to 17.
However, the biggest bungle was missing two chances to remove man of the match Ronchi on the first ball he faced.
Andre Russell dropped a caught-and-bowled opportunity and when Ronchi scampered through for a quick single, Tino Best was astray with his run-out throw at the stumps.
The West Indies, who won the toss and elected to bat first, appeared to have lost their way when reduced to 67-4 in the 11th over, before Denesh Ramdin and Andre Taylor breathed life into their innings.
They put on 70 for the fifth wicket, which ended when Fletcher (40) opted to sacrifice himself after he and Ramdin ended up at the same end in a running mixup.
Ramdin carried on to the end to be unbeaten on 55 off 31 balls in an innings which included three sixes and three fours.
New Zealand next host India, starting with the first of five one-day internationals on Sunday next week, to be followed by two Tests.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS