Friday 26th December 2008
Windies win thriller of a game
The West Indies won the first Twenty 20 International against New Zealand in a riveting and thrilling finish in Auckland.
New Zealand were restricted to 155 for seven off their 20 overs - and after a late collapse by the West Indies, Sulieman Benn struck a boundary and a single from the last two balls to leave the visitors on 155 for eight and the scores tied.
The teams then each nominated three batsmen and a bowler for their super overs - in which Chris Gayle hammered Daniel Vettori for 25 runs, and then New Zealand could manage only 15 and had Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor dismissed.
Click for the SCORECARD
It was a tense finish to what had looked a straightforward chase for the West Indies.
With Gayle at the helm, they looked like picking off the 156 runs required for victory.
Gayle was particularly savage on Tim Southee in the early stages - taking 30 runs, including two huge sixes and four fours, off the young seamer's first two overs.
He brought up his half-century with his fifth boundary, this time off Oram, his 53 taking just 34 balls and containing three sixes.
But at the other end, wickets fell at regular intervals - with Xavier Marshall and Shawn Findlay the only others to post scores of note.
The slide began when Vettori had Ramnaresh Sarwan caught by Daniel Flynn.
Gayle then perished for 67, his 41-ball innings coming to an end when he mistimed a Jeetan Patel delivery to Ross Taylor at long-off.
That left the West Indies 114 for four, needing 42 off 35 balls. But the tourists hit the self-destruct button, with Kieron Pollard and Carlton Baugh out in successive overs - leaving their team needing 24 from 18 balls.
Having reached 149 for six going into the final, they lost Findlay caught behind off - and then Jerome Taylor set off for an impossible single which sacrificed Fidel Edwards, before Benn salvaged the super over.
Benn had also performed well with the ball.
Gayle, in another man-of-the-match performance, conceded just 16 runs from three overs and saw off James Franklin - with an outstanding return catch - and Daniel Flynn.
Ross Taylor was the only home batsman to last more than 17 balls, on his way to 63.
He brought up his 50 with a massive six over midwicket and two balls later sent another one in the same direction as he took 14 runs off Edwards' over.
Taylor plundered four fours and four sixes, but the next best score was Scott Styris' 21 off 12 balls.
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