New Zealand vs West Indies Live ஸ்கோர், 5th ODI of New Zealand tour of West Indies, 2026

New Zealand secure series victory - New Zealand clinch the 5-match ODI series 3-2 after a highly competitive campaign in the Caribbean, even though the West Indies claimed ultimate bragging rights by winning a thrilling fifth and final match. While Shai Hope's men will take immense confidence from their resilient, match-winning run chase to finish on a high note, it is Mitchell Santner's NZ who fly home with the silverware. Thank you for joining us. Cheers!

New Zealand captain - Mitchell Santner reflects on yet another great, closely contested game in what has been a highly competitive series. While acknowledging that his team fell just short of a victory today, Santner praises his bowlers for fighting back valiantly to drag the match deep. He explains that recent squad rotation is a natural result of their dense playing schedule, leaving the team in a strong position to build depth. Noting that West Indies pitches are slower than the decks back home, he points out that winning the toss is crucial in these conditions, though he smiles at the welcome sight of plenty of turn. Santner lauds the impact of Lennox, noting his long-term domestic success in New Zealand and his clear role of attacking the stumps, while also praising Gudakesh Motie for an outstanding series performance.

West Indies captain - Shai Hope highlights the fighting spirit his team displayed throughout the series, while identifying a pressing need for much greater consistency, a quality he notes has been missing in recent campaigns. He urges his squad to put together a complete game by pointing back to missed opportunities during the matches in Guyana. Looking back at his own recent performances, he points out that a costly dropped catch in the previous game and his own lack of runs were critical moments where they let the opposition off the hook.

POTS - Jayden Lennox wins the Player Of The Series. Jayden Lennox took 11 wickets in the series. Lennox expresses deep enjoyment in playing on spin-friendly pitches, noting that the entire tour serves as an excellent learning experience. Jayden Lennox highlights the value of studying the craft of left-arm orthodox bowling from teammate Mitchell Santner, who has executed it successfully for a long time. While he feels there is no single magical secret to his recent success, he considers himself fortunate to perform well.

POTM - Shimron Hetmyer wins the Player Of The Match award for his knock of 69 off 64 balls. Shimron Hetmyer expresses immense satisfaction, emphasizing that personal milestones like scoring a half-century were completely out of his mind. Shimron reveals that the team's continuous strategy was simply to stay at the crease and wait for deliveries in their hitting zones without overthinking. He credits their success to calculated shot selection and a crucial middle-order partnership, during which he advised his incoming partner to just focus on the ball.

Presentation ...

Earlier - New Zealand's batting innings promised a commanding total but ultimately crumbled late as the West Indies bowlers staged a disciplined comeback in the final ten overs. On a challenging, lively wicket that offered significant swing, seam, and unpredictable bounce early on, Kiwi openers Henry Nicholls and Will Young fought hard before Matthew Forde broke the opening stand. Young anchored the innings with a steady half-century before falling to spinner Vitel Lawes, while Nick Kelly held the middle order together with a resilient knock. Tom Latham later provided a brief spark of acceleration, taking 14 runs off a single Jayden Seales over to put the BlackCaps back in control. However, the West Indies pacers turned the tide by removing both Santner and Latham in quick succession, triggering a late-innings collapse finishing on 268.

Kiwi bowlers Fought hard - While New Zealand’s bowling unit struggled with consistency throughout the innings, they showed immense grit to drag a seemingly lost game into the 48th over. Left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox was the standout performer, picking up three wickets while choking the runs at an economy rate of under 4 per over. In contrast, senior pacer Jacob Duffy also claimed three scalps but proved expensive, leaking over 8 runs an over, while Nathan Smith and Michael Bracewell chipped in with a wicket apiece in a losing cause.

Middle-order resilience - A solid 95-run partnership between Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford decided the game, as they counter-attacked to bring the hosts within striking distance of the target. However, New Zealand's bowlers refused to surrender, triggering a dramatic late-order collapse that saw the West Indies slide from a commanding 239 for 5 to a shaky 248 for 8. With the pressure mounting, Hetmyer took charge, clearing the boundary ropes a few times in the dying stages of the match to safely guide his side across the finish line.

Explosive start sets the foundation - West Indies launched their chase of 269 with an aggressive, front-foot approach as openers Ackeem Auguste and Justin Greaves put on a flying 57-run stand inside the first six overs. Although both openers were dismissed in quick succession, Shai Hope and Keacy Carty showed great maturity to steady the ship, halting a potential collapse with a patient 59-run partnership off 99 balls. Just as the West Indies looked comfortably in control, New Zealand struck back by removing both set batters in rapid succession, swinging the momentum back to the bowling side.

FOUR! Jayden Seales hit the winning runs and West Indies win by 2 wickets. Pitched-up delivery, on middle and off, Jayden Seales collapses his back knee and lofts this over the mid on fielder for a boundary to bring this game to a close. West Indies win this game but New Zealand clinch the series 3-2.

Back of a length, around off, Jayden Seales blocks this to point.

Hard length, slanting down the leg side. Jayden Seales goes for a flick but misses.

Good length, around off, Shimron Hetmyer slashes hard at it but misses out.

Short and wide of off, Shimron Hetmyer leaves it all alone.

SIX! Shimron Hetmyer goes back-to-back sixes and West Indies now need just 4 more to win. Good length, on middle and leg, Shimron Hetmyer clears his front foot, plants it on his leg side and slogs this on the roof of the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region.

WIDE! Full and wide outside off. Wided.

SIX! Shimron Hetmyer connects with one and clears the fence for a biggie. Low full toss, on middle and leg, Shimron Hetmyer slogs this from the bottom of his bat but such is the power of Hetmyer that the ball lands on the other side of the fence towards cow corner for six.

Slower one, on a length, around off, Shimron Hetmyer swings and misses.

Back of a length, around middle and off, Shimron Hetmyer hits this to long on for no run. Shimron Hetmyer will look to farm strike for the first 3-4 balls.

On a length, around the pads, Shimron Hetmyer tucks this to the left of short fine leg and takes a single.

Hard length, on middle and off, Jayden guides this through the third man region for one.

Good length, on middle and leg, Jayden blocks this off his front foot.

On a length, arond middle and off, Shimron Hetmyer smashes this to long on for a single.

Full and around off, Shimron Hetmyer drives this to extra cover for a dot.

Full and on off, Shimron Hetmyer rolls this down to long off for a dot. A single was on offer but Shimron Hetmyer denies it.

WIDE! Bouncer, a bit too high for the batter. Wided.

In the last 14 balls, WI have scored 17 runs and lost 3 wickets.

Hard length, around off, Jayden Seales swings and misses out.

Good length, on off, Jayden Seales pushes this to mid off for no run.