On the back of a belligerent half-century from Glenn Phillips and an admirable bowling performance from Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell, New Zealand on August 12 (Friday) trounced a beleaguered West Indies side by a massive margin of 90 runs in the second T20I at Sabina Park in Jamaica. As a result of this commanding victory, the Black Caps secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand dominated the entire match except for the first four overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first. After the visitors lost the wickets of their two most experienced batters - Martin Guptill (20 runs off 11 balls) and Kane Williamson (4 runs off 2 balls) cheaply, Phillips and Devon Conway (42 runs off 34 balls) counter-attacked in style to put the Black Caps in the ascendancy.
The 25-year-old Phillips, in particular, took a special liking to West Indies bowlers and swaggered his way to an imperious 76-run knock in just 41 balls. The right-handed batter smoked four fours and six maximums in his thunderous innings. He first registered a 71-run alliance with Conway for the third wicket and then joined forces with Daryl Mitchell (48 runs off 20 balls).
Phillips and Mitchell combined for an 83-run stand in just 34 balls to propel New Zealand to a massive score of 215/5 in 20 overs. Obed McCoy was the pick of all Windies bowlers as he finished with figures of 40/3.
The Men In Maroon's fragile batting line-up folded like a pack of cards in reply to the daunting target set by the Kiwis. The home team's top four batters failed to reach double figures while it was number 11 batter McCoy (23 runs off 15 balls) who top scored for the hosts.
Santner and Bracewell bowled exceedingly well and finished with three wickets apiece, restricting an explosive West Indies batting line-up for a paltry score of 125/9 in 20 overs.
The Black Caps extended West Indies' abysmal run in T20Is in 2022. The Men in Maroon have now lost 11 of their 18 T20Is this year, winning only six matches.
The 3rd T20I, which will now be a dead rubber, is scheduled to be played on August 14 (Sunday). The hosts would look to salvage some pride in front of their fans in the final game.
