http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 – 1st Test (Day 2) – Match Recap
The second day of the ongoing Test between the West Indies and New Zealand saw the usual suspects, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221, putting an end to what had appeared to be a promising start for the tourists on day one, as the hosts took complete control at
the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on July 26.
Having won the toss and elected to bat first, New Zealand had gotten off to a flying start on day one, courtesy solid performances by openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Guptill-c1980 (97). However, Narine’s quick dismissal of Flynn was followed by Brendon McCullum’s
departure off http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KAJ-Roach-c1758 after a meagre contribution of 25 runs.
Narine stepped in to polish off skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849 (45), before sending Guptill back to the pavilion 3 runs short of a hundred, after the 25-year-old allowed his nerves to get the better of him, with his attempt at a slog-sweep seeing him caught at mid-on
by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/N-Deonarine-c2051. The Windies’ star off-spinner Narine finished the day with figures of 3 for 73, with New Zealand at 232 for 4.
Day 2 began with the Kiwis’ middle and lower order faced with the responsibility of bringing the team total up to a sizeable figure. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KS-Williamson-c1813 (19), however, found themselves unequal to the task, with the former dismissed by Narine,
while Roach claimed Williamson for his second victim, bringing the 21-year-old’s 40-run partnership with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dean-Brownlie-c1349 (23) to an abrupt end.
The Windies’ bowlers made short work of the Black Caps’ remaining batting line-up, and Brownlie’s dismissal at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DL-Vettori-c1384 (17), in addition to a
valiant attempt on Doug Bracewell’s (39) part, saw the Kiwis ending their innings, all out, at 351, having added only 119 runs to their day 1 total.
Narine registered figures of 5 for 132, while Roach and Rampaul claimed two scalps each. Despite the flurry of late wickets, the Kiwis' final score appeared fairly sufficient, until Chris Gayle opened the Windies’ first innings, accompanied by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kieran-Omar-Akeem-Powell-c71441.
Gayle, returning to the Test side after a period of one and a half years, set the tone for the innings in the very first over, smashing four boundaries off pace spearhead http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CS-Martin-c1295, and the Windies’ were off to a spectacular start.
New Zealand’s bowlers went wicketless on the second day, unable to dislodge the openers from the crease. Gayle finished with an individual score of 85* (having hit a total of 12 fours and 1 six), overtaking http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Cuthbert-Gordon-Greenidge-c51796 as the Windies’ highest run-getter
against New Zealand. Meanwhile, Powell, who served mainly as a foil to the inexorable Gayle, scored his third Test fifty (58*).
The Kiwis’ bowlers had no answers to the onslaught, with Vettori remaining the only one who managed to restrict the run flow, registering figures of 0 for 24 at an economy rate of 1.60. Chris Martin, however, proved fairly expensive (9-2-45-0), and debutant
Wagner, who was touted as an aggressive new addition to the side, remained unimpressive, finishing the day with figures of 0 for 35, including a costly 11th over which saw Gayle hitting him for 3 fours.
The result was the host team’s highest opening stand since December 2010, when Gayle last played in the extended-overs format for the national side. The unbeaten 145-run partnership between the openers sees the West Indies off to a strong start, and the
home team will be looking to continue the momentum on day 3, while the Black Caps find themselves, once again, looking for a way through the ‘Gaylestorm’.
Tags: