The night of 22nd of June saw one of the best innings ever produced in a World Cup game. The West Indies vs New Zealand game was an extremely close contested one. Posting 291/8 on the board, the Kiwi side looked solid in the first half. Recovering from an early setback, they were able to pull things back courtesy a Kane Williamson huge 148, Ross Taylor’s 69 and some cameos towards the end.
The Windies started their chase in an iffy manner, with Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran being dismissed rather cheaply. Chris Gayle looked at his ominous best, getting 87 off 84 balls, with 8 fours and 6 sixes, falling short of what could’ve been a well deserved 100. It still wasn’t easy going for the men in maroon, as NZ came back in the game with wickets at regular intervals. Then came in Carlos Brathwaite at number 6, with his side needing another 150 odd runs to seal the deal, and half a dozen wickets in hand.
Most people would’ve written them off, saying that its bound to be a big win for the Kiwis. But then came that blitz of an innings from the Windies no.6. Hitting to all parts of the ground, as clean as they come. Striking at 123.17, his innings of a 101 included 9 fours and 5 sixes. The game kept everyone on the edge of their seats as the chasing side only had 1 wicket in hand. 6 off 7 needed, Carlos skied a pull shot to deep mid on, and for a moment everyone thought that was a victory for the Windies, but they fell agonizingly short, Trent Boult at his athletic best at long on. And the despair was there to be seen in Carlos Brathwaite’s eyes. He almost had it. Nonetheless, it will be an innings talked about for the years to come.
-Vibhor Dubey
The Average Cricketer 