West Indies 269 for 8 (Hetmyer 69*, Rutherford 61, Lennox 3-35) beat New Zealand 268 for 9 (Latham 69, Kelly 64, Joseph 2-3
by 2 wickets
Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 69 helped the West Indies secure a tense 2-wicket victory over New Zealand in the 5th and final One-Day International in Kensington, Barbados, on Tuesday.
The West Indies needed to recover following a deflating defeat in the 4th ODI. While that result secured the series for New Zealand, points were still on offer for the Caribbean side.
Hetmyer shared in a crucial 95-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford. The Guyanese pair came together in the 26th over when the hosts had lost their main contributors, captain Shai Hope (39 from 52) and Keacy Carty (20 from 54), in the span of 14 balls, slipping from 118 for two to 123 for four.
The 90-ball fifth-wicket stand between Hetmyer and Rutherford not only laid the platform for what could be two crucial points for Daren Sammy’s men, but it also triggered a series of what-if scenarios in the mind of Caribbean fans. More so for Hetmyer.
The last time the left-hander crossed three figures in ODIs was against India at the Chidambaram Stadium in 2019. His 139 then was his 5th century in the format, and at the age of 22, it made him the youngest West Indian to score five ODI hundreds.
