Brilliant Narine bowls WI to victory

Jul 17, 2012 Sports

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A career-best spell from Sunil Narine swept West Indies to a confidence-boosting 20-run victory over New Zealand in the final Digicel One-day International on Monday.

Dwayne Bravo

The Mohawk-shaven off-spinner captured five wickets for 27 runs from his allotment of 10 overs, as New Zealand failed to successfully chase a victory target of 242 from their allocation of 50 overs on another docile Warner Park pitch in steamy conditions.
Narine finished with the best bowling analysis by a West Indian against New Zealand in an ODI and the best ODI figures at this venue to earn the Man-of-the-Match award, making him a shoo-in for the Man-of-the-Series prize.
Dwayne Bravo ended with two for 30 from six overs and Tino Best finished with two for 58 from 10 overs, as several New Zealand batsmen got starts, but failed to carry on with Kane Williamson leading the way with 69, Martin Guptill and Brendan McCullum 33 apiece, and Ross Taylor and Andrew Ellis 28 each.
The result was formalised, when Bravo had tail-ender Trent Boult caught at long-on off the last very last ball of the ODI series.
It meant the Windies won the five-match series 4-1, after taking an unbeatable 3-1 lead last Saturday with a 24-run victory in the penultimate Digicel ODI here.
West Indies also won the first Digicel ODI by nine wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis Method two Thursdays ago at Sabina Park in Jamaica, where they also won the second Digicel ODI by 55 runs two Saturdays ago before losing the third Digicel ODI by 88 runs last Wednesday here.
Half-centuries from Andre Russell and Bravo had propped up West Indies batting, helping them to a respectable total of 241 for nine from their 50 overs, after they chose to bat.
Russell led the way with a typically stroke-filled, unbeaten 59, Bravo scored 53, Marlon Samuels supported with 43 and Devon Thomas made 20, helping West Indies to recover after they stumbled to 37 for three in the ninth over.
Best then gave West Indies another early breakthrough, when he had opener Rob Nicol brilliantly caught at mid-wicket by a leaping Bravo for two in the first over of the chase.

Sunil Narine

West Indies met resistance, when McCullum came to the crease and put on 62 for the second wicket with Guptill to put New Zealand on a good trajectory.
Narine disrupted the Black Caps’ flow, when he had McCullum caught at slip in the 12th over and trapped Guptill lbw in the 18th over, leaving the visitors on 77 for three.
West Indies were made to work again, but the wickets of New Zealand captain Ross Taylor and left-hander Daniel Flynn in the space of eight deliveries swung the tide the Caribbean side’s way, leaving the Black Caps 109 for five.
But West Indies continued to face resistance, as Williamson was the hub around which New Zealand staged a late fight-back with stands of 31 with Tom Latham and 68 with Andrew Ellis.
When Narine had Williamson, whose innings contained five fours and one six from 84 balls, spectacularly caught one-handed by a diving Chris Gayle at mid-wicket in the 46th over, New Zealand needed 34 from the last 26 balls – and that proved a mountain.
Earlier, Bravo, dropped on 14, when he offered a return chance to Andrew Ellis in the 22nd over, shared two vital stands with Samuels and Thomas that breathed life back into the West Indies innings. He struck three fours and one six from 93 balls.
He started the recovery operation with Samuels, putting on 60 for the fourth wicket, and continued to lead the salvage job, adding 53 for the sixth wicket with Thomas.
Samuels was caught at cover, trying to force a delivery from Tim Southee off the back-foot in the 26th over, and Thomas was caught at deep mid-wicket off Ellis in the 38th over before Windies captain Darren Sammy was caught behind off Kyle Mills for two in the following over.
The Caribbean side were stumbling on 160 for seven, but Russell took charge late in the innings, clubbing six fours and three sixes from 40 deliveries, helping West Indies collect 77 in the last 10 overs.