West Indies followed up landmark hundreds from Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels with purposeful bowling to clinch a 55-run victory over New Zealand in the second Digicel One-day International on Saturday.
Gayle led the way with 125 from 107 balls and Samuels, another beloved son of the soil, made an unbeaten 101 from 103 balls, as the Windies, sent in to bat on a hard, true Sabina Park pitch, posted 315 for five from their allocation of 50 overs – their highest ODI total against New Zealand – on a picture-perfect day.
Ravi Rampaul followed up with three wickets for 50 runs from nine overs, Sunil Narine supported with two for 45 off his allotted 10 overs, and Samuels captured two for 46 from eight overs, as the hosts overcame half-centuries from wicketkeeper/batsman B.J. Watling, the Black Caps captain Kane Williamson and opener Martin Guptill to grab another comfortable victory.
The result was formalised, when Andre Russell’s throw from long-on to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin ran the visitors’ last man Tarun Nethula out for three with 18 deliveries remaining.
West Indies took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, following a nine-wicket victory under the Duckworth-Lewis Method in the rain-affected first Digicel ODI two days ago at the same venue.
The last three Digicel ODIs in the series take place at Warner Park in St. Kitts this coming Wednesday, Saturday, and Monday the following week.
Left-hander Gayle swept the Black Caps captain Kane Williamson, bowling his uncomplicated, part-time off-spin, to deep fine leg for the seventh of his eight fours to reach his milestone from 88 balls.
It was Gayle’s second ODI hundred on home turf and took him past another famous left-hander, the mercurial Brian Lara, for the highest number of ODI hundreds by a West Indian.
Samuels, later named Man-of-the-Match, dabbed Jacob Oram to backward point in the final over for a single that took him to the threshold from 102 balls.
It was his third ODI hundred and first in any format of the game on the international stage in the Caribbean.
The two shared 129 for the third wicket before Gayle was caught at deep mid-wicket off Kyle Milles in the 38th over, essaying a tired pull.
Gayle had also put on 88 with Dwayne Smith for the second wicket that helped to put the home team in early control of affairs.
Rampaul then gave West Indies an early breakthrough, when opener Rob Nicol was caught at mid-wicket for 15 in the sixth over from a mistimed pull before Narine struck with his fifth delivery, when Daniel Flynn was caught at slip for 21, edging playing defensively forward in the 12th over.
The Windies missed a chance to tighten their grip, when Lendl Simmons dropped a difficult chance from Guptill, on 31, at cover off Darren Sammy.
Simmons flew to his right and got his right hand to a high chance, after the batsman mistimed a drive at a slower delivery off the West Indies captain.
Samuels snared his two scalps in the space of six balls, keeping the balance of power with the home team, after Guptill anchored the top half of the New Zealand batting, reaching his 50 from 77 balls.
Samuels, bowling his uncomplicated off-spin darts, held a return catch to dismiss Guptill for 51 in the 26th over and Tom Latham was caught at mid-wicket for two from a miscue in his following over, leaving the Black Caps 125 for four.
West Indies confronted defiance, when Watling joined New Zealand captain Williamson to put on 70 for the fifth wicket before three more wickets in the space of 19 deliveries undermined the visitors again, virtually sewing up the result.
Rampaul had Williamson trapped lbw for 59 with an in-swinging yorker, after the Windies challenged umpire Richard Illingworth’s not-out verdict in the 37th over.
Tim Southee was run out for two in the next over, when he failed to beat Pollard’s throw from short third man to Ramdin, and Narine bowled Nathan McCullum for one with a well-flighted delivery in the 40th over, as the Black Caps slipped to 215 for seven.
The Caribbean side kept their cool in the closing overs, claiming the last three of the visitors’ wickets for 18 in the same number of balls, in the face of a late charge for victory led by Watling.
Earlier, West Indies suffered an early setback, when Simmons was caught behind for three, edging a loose drive in the fourth over to become the first of three scalps for Southee in 10 overs that cost 55.
Next over, Gayle deposited Mills into the Great Northern Stand for three of his nine sixes off consecutive deliveries over long-off in the fifth over of the day.
He continued his rampage, when Nathan McCullum replaced the fast-medium bowler, lofting the off-spinner’s third delivery over long-on for his fourth six and crashing the next delivery through square cover for four.
Gayle also flicked Southee through square leg for four in the following over and genuflected before driving the fast-medium bowler over the top of cover for another boundary, to the delight of the crowd.
But Gayle and Smith soon found runs at a premium, but kept their nerve through this period before Smith broke the shackles, when he swung Oram for a six over mid-wicket into the lower level of the Kingston Cricket Club pavilion and slammed the next delivery to long-off for a boundary.
Gayle galloped to his 50, reaching the landmark from 42 balls, when he played defensively forward and edged an off-break from McCullum to short third man for a single.
But Smith was caught at long-off for 24 from the bowling of Nethula, mistiming a lofted straight drive at the leg-spinner in the 19th over, leaving West Indies 98 for two.
Samuels came to the crease and kept the Windies in charge, mixing sound defence with typically languid strokes of aggression and ushering Gayle to his hundred.
Samuels reached his 50 from 58 balls with a perfectly-placed, crisp square drive off Mills for the second of his seven fours in the 36th over before Gayle’s departure.
West Indies entered the final 10 overs on 246 for three, but their late charge hit a snag, as Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo were dismissed cheaply before Sammy delivered with a rapid-fire 31 from 21 balls that included one four and two sixes.
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