Twitter Reactions: Lockie Ferguson, James Neesham hand New Zealand resounding win in Auckland

Ferguson ran through the visitors' batting order with a five-wicket haul.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Lockie Ferguson
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Lockie Ferguson. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

The opening T20I between West Indies and New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland turned out to be a high-scoring affair. The match wasn’t a one-sided affair by any means and both teams were pretty much in the game throughout. In the end, the Kiwis got over the line, winning five wickets- D/L Method. Moreover, they also took an ever-so-crucial 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Pollard pulls his team out

After being put in to bat first, West Indies made a thunderous start, scoring 58 runs in the first 19 balls. In between, rain interrupted and the match was pruned down to 16 overs per side. Andre Fletcher threw the kitchen sink at everything and notched 34 runs off 14 balls with three fours and as many sixes. It was Lockie Ferguson, who rattled his woodwork to cut short his stay in the middle.

The wicket brought about a collapse as from 58/0, the visitors were reduced to 59/5 in 5.1 overs. Ferguson and Tim Southee put the Kiwis on the driver’s seat. Ferguson also went on to pick a five-wicket haul. For the visitors, skipper Pollard put his hands up and hammered 75 off 37 with four fours and eight sixes. Fabian Allen lent him support with 30 as the Caribbeans ended with 180/7.

Neesham and Conway step up

The revised target of 176 was expected to be a tall order for the Black Caps. They lost the wickets of openers Martin Guptill and Tim Seifert inside the powerplay. Glenn Phillips smashed 22 off seven before getting out to Oshane Thomas. Ross Taylor couldn’t open his account, getting run-out. From there, Devon Conway and James Neesham put their hands up and stitched a 77-run partnership.

Pollard got rid of Conway, who scored 41 off 29, to break the stand, which was looking ominous. At that point in time, the hosts still needed 36 runs in the last 22 balls. Nevertheless, Neesham and Mitchell Santner made sure that the home team got over the line without further hiccups. Even as Neesham stayed unbeaten on 48 runs off 24 balls, Santner got an unbeaten 31 off 18 balls.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to New Zealand’s win:

 

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