Daryl Mitchell's 119 lifts New Zealand to a 7-run win over the West Indies in the 1st ODI

Sherfane Rutherford led the West Indies' reply with his seventh half-century and an unbroken 53-run partnership between Justin Greaves, who made 38 from 24 balls, and Romario Shepherd, who made 26 from 19, saw the tourists carry their chase into the final over.

The West Indies finally needed nine runs from the last two balls bowled by Jacob Duffy and managed only one, finishing on 262-6.

Batters from both teams struggled in difficult conditions at Hagley Oval. Timing was awkward on a two-paced pitch on which few batters were able to score freely. A strong breeze made the longest square boundaries mostly inaccessible. New Zealand also made effective use of the short ball.

The West Indies became bogged down early in their reply. After losing John Campbell (4) in the third over, Alick Athenaze and Keacy Carty consumed almost 18 overs in a partnership of 60 for the second wicket.

Athenaze made 29 from 58 balls and Carty 32 from 67.

Captain Shai Hope lifted the scoring rate with 37 from 45 balls and Rutherford's 55 from 61 deliveries added momentum before he was out in the 46th over.

“It was a tricky surface in terms of the extra bounce some balls had and I guess there wasn't a fluent way you could go about your one-day innings,” Mitchell said. “You had to find a way to find ways to put pressure on them at times and absorb pressure at other times.”

Mitchell put on 67 for New Zealand's third wicket with Devon Conway and 69 for the fifth wicket with Michael Bracewell (35) in the best of New Zealand's partnerships. Conway ground out 49 from 58 balls at the top of the order.

The first four New Zealand batters fell to catches behind the stumps by Hope, including Rachin Ravindra (4) and Will Young who were out to consecutive balls from Matt Forde in the seventh over. Young fell for a golden duck in his 50th one-day international.

Mitchell came out to bat at that point, with New Zealand 24-2. Conway departed at 91-3 and Tom Latham (18) at 123-4, leaving Mitchell as the innings anchor.

Mitchell carried his bat until the last over, overcoming a groin injury that required on-field medical treatment when he was 79 in the 41st over. He reached his half-century from 61 balls and his century from 107 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.

____

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket