WI VS NZ - Match 29, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

It's a long time now but do you remember that the Kiwis lost two wickets in the first over. But from then on they always had an answer to every affirmative step taken by the Windies. The Taylor-Williamson partnership got them out of the ditch. Then Williamson kicked on and played deep enough in to the innings to take his team to close to 300. Windies started off losing two wickets early. But then the future (Hetmyer) joined hands with past (Gayle) to leave the spectators in awe. But the confluence of both never transpired in the present and Windies came up with a typical collapse before Carlos 'remember the name' Brathwaite took charge. He ended up on his knees at the end of it. But trust me he almost did the same to his opponents. The hangover of the innings will linger on. So, good bye for now. This is Kumar Abhisekh Das, bidding you buh bye on behalf of the tipsy team (still recovering from the calypso beats) of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Sriram, Nikhil Jadhav and Sreenivas.

Yogesh: Same scene repeated like yesterday. Stokes and Brathwaite both fought till the end but couldn't get it done for their country

Sumit: Rather 5 runs I would say 5" short West Indies!! Phew a game to remember for ages...Well played Brathwaite.

Holder: Tough game. Proud of the guys, especially Carlos (Brathwaite), he played a very good innings. Chris (Gayle) set the tone for us. Lots of positives despite the defeat. You can pinpoint to a couple of areas. One or two areas, we looked pretty poor. But we did well to fight back at various times. You can't fault the efforts of the guys. We needed to seize a few moments. We lost wickets at crucial stages, Hetty fell at a bad time and I came in and got out. Credit to Kemar (Roach) to get that partnership with Carlos and so did Cottrell and Oshane (Thomas). Win all three hopefully (when asked about the remaining games). We have our pride to play for.

Kane Williamson (MoM) - Obviously, West Indies are incredibly dangerous, the power they generate throughout the order, we saw it even today. Not the best of starts, they got the ball to swing which made life incredibly difficult. They bowled in the right areas for a lengthy amount of time, the ball did a bit, we did well to put on partnerships which helped us post a decent total on the board. It didn't do anything like that in the second innings though, but a great game of cricket. We have been to different venues and it's been different conditions, got plenty of swing in Cardiff (in our first game) and a variety in other places including some rain. We have been able to adjust according to the conditions. I wanted to be clear in my mind, wanted to play according to the merit of the ball, make the best possible decisions and play according to the situation of the game: He has got very good hands (on the Boult catch to dismiss Brathwaite). We did put a few down today and wasn't our best fielding effort. That paved way for a close contest I suppose. Too close for comfort. Those sort of games are good for the crowd. Fantastic crowd in. Very fortunate to be on the right side of the result. The game ebbed and flowed. Some of their guys were able to hit the ball out of the park and we were able to pick up the wickets and stem the flow. The run rate came in to the equation and then again they hit a few more out of the park. Was a brilliant game and a lot of learning for us before we move into the next match. I thought the guys and the roles given to them, they did an outstanding job. It is always a balance to an attack and guys execute their skills on different surfaces. I mean of the striking the Windies team are able to achieve is unrivalled. Lot of learning to take and buy your trade. I think any sort of experience you have, you can learn from it. There have been a couple of tight ones against good sides. It's nice you end up on the right side of the result and still reflect and make some improvements moving forward. You move on to a new opposition on a new surface and things need to fresh. Some things to learn from and some things to move on from. Lot of cricket left. I guess the players are still pretty fresh. We have a few days to think about changes before the next game. Every game is a tough one here. You want to play good cricket and move forward. We have taken small steps but still a long way to go.

21:40 Local Time, 20:40 GMT, 02:10 IST: Game of the tournament. The ebbs and flows in the game were unreal. Surreal. On the top stage Brathwaite decided to almost own the evening all by himself. Not many would have seen Kapil Dev's one man show of 175 but this hitting from Brathwaite was a tribute to it for sure. His belief to take it till the end was stuff of legends. Don't worry if you have missed out, this tale will have many retelling. They were 164 for 7. Plans were made for an early exit. But then came the phoenix and almost wrote a chapter in cricket that would have lasted for the ages. The cricketing annals will still have this as an indelible lesson. And credit to all the lower-order batters -- Roach, Cottrell and Thomas -- who showed more fight than their top-order batters. From being 20 for 2 to 142 for 2, WI then nosedived to 164 for 7. But the climb after that was an extended highlights package. NZ have gone to the top of the table but this is their second humdinger. And they have collected back-to-back wins. That's what good teams do. Close out close affairs and get those vital points.

Neesham to Brathwaite, out Caught by Boult!! Heartbreak for Brathwaite and Windies. Jubilation for New Zealand. NZ win by 5 runs. Boult at long-on takes a breathtaking catch. He had impeccable balance to ensure he didn't come close to tripping over. As cool as Boult. Coin the phrase. That was short, as expected and Brathwaite retorted with a pull. It went miles and fell only a few metres inside the fence. The longish boundary helped the Kiwis. There was a check for the no-ball but the bowler was well inside the crease. The handshakes continue. KW has some good words for Brathwaite. He deserves more. How on earth does it feel to be Brathwaite? Cricket is a game of margins but a few metres, few inches. The Windies camp is stunned. They were on course for a fairytale but the dreams and means simply weren't on a linear path. Brathwaite c Boult b Neesham 101(82) [4s-9 6s-5]

Neesham to Brathwaite, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

What will Brathwaite do? Single or finish it on this ball?

Neesham to Brathwaite, no run, and misses the short ball outside off. Was banged in short outside off and Brathwaite failed to pick it up

Neesham to Brathwaite, 2 runs, pulls it away to deep mid! 6 more needed now. Hundred for the big man! Best ton of the tournament. I don't need to run a poll for this. Whatta knock. Soaks it all in. The Windies fans and the entire squad is up and applauding. This is once in a generation knock

Neesham to Brathwaite, no run, and another short ball outside off and Brathwaite misses the swat on the on-side. Pressure! Big time pressure. Three dot balls. But still 9 more to go

Neesham to Brathwaite, no run, that was a high bumper! Too wide outside off and Brathwaite tried to drag it and missed it. Was close to the outer edge as well

Neesham to Brathwaite, no run, shortish ball and has been stabbed out into the off-side. Playing sensibly. Is waiting for his ball

James Neesham [5.0-0-33-0] is back into the attack

My fingers have given way. My heart has turned into a formula one car. My edge of the seat has been shivering. 8 needed off 12 balls.

Matt Henry to Brathwaite, 1 run, short ball outside off and has been steered over the man at point for a single. Third man cuts the ball off. 8 more needed now

Field comes in. Have to stop the single.

Matt Henry to Brathwaite, FOUR, four more! Fortune favors the brave. 24 off the over so far. Short ball, was late on it, top-edge and the ball sails over the keeper for a four. 9 more needed to win. He is on 98

Matt Henry to Brathwaite, SIX, have you been to a roller-coaster? This is the feeling guys. Full toss outside off and has been slammed over deep cover. Sixer. Unreal. Beastly. Moves to 94. 13 more needed now

There is a conference now. Taylor. KW. Henry. Everyone there. Field changes. Drama..Mid-off drops back. Right thing as well. Square leg comes up. There is a short third man in place now.

Matt Henry to Brathwaite, SIX, what is happening here? That was a low full toss outside off. Brathwaite throws the kitchen sink at it and slices it. The ball went high, very high and lands on the cushion of the ropes. That is a sixer. 19 more needed. 15 balls to go