West Indies beat New Zealand by 2 wickets in 5th ODI; New Zealand wins series 3-2

Shimron Hetmyer held his nerve late in the run chase to score an unbeaten 69 and steer West Indies to a two-wicket victory over New Zealand in the fifth and final one-day international on Tuesday (July 22, 2026).

New Zealand won the series 3-2, clinching it in Game 4 after earlier victories in Game 2 (by five wickets) and Game 3 (by six wickets), following West Indies' seven-wicket win in the opening match.

Match Summary

• New Zealand: 268-9 (50 overs)
• West Indies: 269-8 (47.3 overs)
• Result: West Indies won by 2 wickets
• Series: New Zealand wins 3-2

All five matches in the series were won by the team batting second.

Key Performances

Hetmyer's fifth ODI half-century and a 95-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford (61) enabled West Indies to reach 269-8 with 15 balls remaining.

The foundation was laid by Shai Hope (39) and Keacy Carty (20), who added 59 runs for the third wicket.

New Zealand Innings

New Zealand appeared set for a larger total at 181-3 in the 35th over and 230-5 with five overs remaining. Key contributions came from:

• Tom Latham: 69
• Nick Kelly: 64
• Will Young: 56

However, tight bowling—particularly from Alzarri Joseph (2-38 from 10 overs)—restricted the scoring in the final stages.

West Indies Run Chase

West Indies began at more than eight runs per over in the first five overs before losing openers Ackeem Auguste and Justin Greaves within five deliveries. Despite the setbacks, the home team maintained a rate of over seven runs per over after 10 overs.

New Zealand applied pressure through spin, and both Hope and Carty fell within three overs after reaching 118-2. Hope was dismissed attempting to hoist a poor ball from Jayden Lennox, while Carty was bowled by a straight delivery from the same bowler.

Momentum Swings

Rutherford and Hetmyer revived the innings, but the match remained tightly contested:

• Rutherford fell at 218-5, with 41 runs needed from nearly 10 overs
• Gudakesh Motie was dismissed at 239-6
• Jacob Duffy dismissed Matthew Forde and Alzarri Joseph with consecutive deliveries in the 45th over, leaving 21 runs required

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner made the unusual decision to remove left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox from the attack after he had taken 3-35 from nine overs. Hetmyer then hit two sixes off Duffy in the 47th over, and West Indies secured victory with more than two overs to spare.

Player Reactions

"I wasn't really thinking about getting a half-century to be honest, I was just thinking about how I can make sure the team crosses the line," Hetmyer said. "Every time a new batter came out I was just like make sure you're there at the end. I'm just happy that I could be there to make sure we crossed the line."

Series Award

Jayden Lennox took 14 wickets at an average of 13.6 and was named Player of the Series.

Published - July 23, 2026 04:39 am IST