ST. JOHN'S: West Indies captain Hayley Matthews' 56 went in vain as Maddy Green hit an unbeaten 32 to take New Zealand to a five-wicket victory in the final T20I at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and clinch the five-match series 4-1. After Fran Jonas (2/8), Eden Carson (2/17) and Suzie Bates (3/10) restricted West Indies to 101/8 in 20 overs, Maddy led the charge for New Zealand in chasing the score on the last ball of the innings and end the tour on a high by bagging the Player of the Match award.
Electing to field first, New Zealand struck early, with Fran removing opener Aaliyah Alleyne for six in the fifth over of the innings. From there on, the hosts were unable to get going as barring Hayley, who got her sixth T20I fifty, none of the batters touched the double-digit mark.
It meant that Hayley had to do the bulk of scoring, hitting three fours and four sixes to take the team past 100. However, with no support from the other end, the team could make just 101.
While Fran would take out Hayley in the 17th over, Eden took out Rashada Williams and Chedean Nation. Suzie was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, dismissing Natasha McLean, Shabika Gajnabi and Afy Fletcher. Bates returned figures of 3 for 10 from her three overs.
Brief scores: West Indies 101/8 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 56; Suzie Bates 3/10, Fran Jonas 2/8) lost to New Zealand 102/5 in 20 overs (Maddy Green 32, Amelia Kerr 25; Shabika Gajnabi 1/8, Afy Fletcher 1/12) by five wickets. IANS
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