New Zealand Vs West Indies T20 Series First Match Played at Auckland on 27 November 2020 
New Zealand 179/5 in 15.2 Overs (JDS Neesham 48*, DP Conway 41, MJ Santer 31* , Oshan Thomas 2/23 ) beat West Indies 180/7 in 16 Overs ( KA Pollard 70* , ADS Fletcher 34, FA Allen 30, LN Fergusson 5/21)  by 5 Wickets In D/L Method Set Revised Target of 176 in 16 overs. 

Player Of The Match: Lockie Ferguson 

A devastating spell of fast bowling by Kiwi Speedster Lockie Ferguson triggering dramatic collapse restricted West Indies to 180/7 in 16 0vers of the rain curtailed first T20 match at Auckland. The D/L revised target for New Zealand was 176 in 16 overs. Good aggressive batting by Kiwis at the top and lower middle order saw them counter past the target scoring 179/5 in 15.2 Overs. 

New Zealand won the toss and let the tourist bat at easy paced Auckland wicket. Fletcher in herculean mode blasted first 3 overs of Southee and Jemison all over the park taking West Indies to 58 in 3.2 0vers. Fletcher scored 34 of this off 14 balls alone. Southee had no option but to bring his ace Ferguson too early in the 3rd over. Ferguson struck double blows and in the following over Southee removed King. Ferguson in his second over again struck twice. Windies losing 5 quick wickets was in total disarray. From 58/0 in a space of 11 deliveries it became 59/5. Pollard came in rescue mission with all-rounder Allan. Rain gave some respite. Brave Pollard using his long handle with able support of Allan added 84 valuable runs for the 6th wicket. Rain again interfered and the match was reduced to 16 overs. West Indies could reach 180/7 with Pollard playing a brilliant stroke full innings of unbeaten 70 in 37 deliveries striking 3 fours and 3 sixes.  Ferguson had match-winning performance of 5/21 in his 4 overs.
 
The D/L method revised the target for New Zealand to 176 in 16 overs. Unfortunately, West Indies did not have bowlers to contain. They managed removing Guptil and Saifert early. But Conway (41) and Phillips (22) kept the target within site although Taylor was run out without scoring. JDS Neesham (48*) and MJ Santner (31*) took the home side past the target in 15.2 overs. Oshan Thomas took 2/23.
 
We are not sure West Indies had right combination. The top order was melted by quality bowling. Batsmen also looked panicked a bit. As it appeared from the batting of Pollard and Allan that wicket was not that difficult to stay and score. Both the teams however are in a mission for finding the right combination for the T20 world cup. Bangladesh must keep an eye on the series as West Indies and New Zealand are their next opponents in not too distant future. 

BDST: 1928 HRS, NOV 27, 2020
AP