A costly dropped catch in the final over handed New Zealand a remarkable one-wicket victory over West Indies in Barbados as Mitchell Santner snatched a thrilling finish to seal an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match ODI series.
West Indies looked set to defend 188 after Gudakesh Motie claimed the first five-wicket haul of his ODI career and reduced New Zealand to nine wickets down. Victory was within touching distance when Jayden Seales deceived Santner with a slower ball and forced a miscued lofted shot.
The chance hung in the air long enough for Akeem Auguste and Justin Greaves to converge. Instead of completing the catch that would have won the match by two runs, the pair collided, spilled the ball and conceded two runs. Santner struck the winning runs moments later to leave the home side stunned.
The Black Caps captain finished unbeaten on 34 from 56 balls and earned the player-of-the-match award after also taking two wickets. Remarkably, New Zealand scored the final 18 runs entirely through Santner’s bat.
Number 11 Jayden Lennox also played a vital supporting role despite failing to score. He survived 10 deliveries, including an entire over with the scores level, allowing Santner to keep the strike for the decisive moments.
Earlier, Mark Chapman rescued New Zealand’s chase with a superb 80 from 82 balls after the visitors slumped to 44 for four. He added 65 runs with Michael Bracewell before Motie sparked another collapse.
The left-arm spinner dismissed Chapman through a brilliant catch by Sherfane Rutherford before bowling Bracewell for 32. He later removed Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher to finish with outstanding figures of 5 for 47, but his efforts ultimately proved insufficient.
West Indies had earlier recovered from 81 for six after another batting collapse. Akeem Auguste made 33 at the top before Amir Jangoo struck 51 and Motie contributed 41 in a seventh-wicket stand worth 81 that lifted the hosts to 188.
Matthew Fisher claimed three wickets for New Zealand, while Santner and Bracewell shared four more to keep West Indies below 200 on a difficult batting surface.
The victory marked New Zealand’s eighth one-wicket win in ODI cricket and secured the series with one match still to play, while West Indies were left wondering how a single dropped catch had changed everything.
