DUNEDIN (New Zealand), Dec 13: The West Indies won third day honours in the rain-hit first cricket Test here on Saturday, taking New Zealand’s last six wickets for 139 runs to dismiss the hosts for 365.
In reply the West Indies reached 39 without loss by stumps, with captain Chris Gayle on 29 and Sewnarine Chattergoon on nine.
With two days remaining, the chances of a result were fast receding after Friday was rained out and play was unable to start until mid-afternoon on Saturday.
New Zealand were 226 for four when play got underway in cold conditions at University Oval with Jesse Ryder’s 89 providing the highlight in the middle order after number three Daniel Flynn’s 95 on Thursday.
After reaching 54 on the first day, the usually aggressive Ryder struggled at times on the slow-paced wicket.
But he still hit 12 fours in his four-and-a-quarter hours at the crease before falling 11 runs short of his first Test hundred by pulling Daren Powell to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at midwicket.
With Brendon McCullum, who was the day’s first wicket to fall after scoring an unusually subdued 25 off 120 balls, Ryder put on 89 runs for the fifth wicket.
The West Indies’s decision to take the new ball after 85 overs injected fresh life into a pace attack struggling on the placid low bouncing wicket.
After McCullum’s dismissal, the West Indies maintained their momentum, preventing the home side from establishing any major partnerships.
Powell was the pick of the West Indies speedsters, finishing with three for 68, while the relatively expensive Fidel Edwards took three for 91 after taking toll of New Zealand’s lower order.
Gayle did the damage to the top of the New Zealand batting line-up on Thursday, finishing with three for 42 from 21 economical overs.
Ryder had some luck on 80 when he was dropped by Sewnarine Chattergoon at second slip off Edwards but the bowler’s fortunes soon improved at the expense of new batsman James Franklin.
The all-rounder fell for seven when his back foot slipped into the stumps after fending a short ball.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori scored a useful 30, before cutting the ball to Xavier Marshall at deep point, apparently unaware the fielder had moved position after the previous ball.
Kyle Mills became the second New Zealand batsman to be given out on a video review, which Gayle requested after umpire Mark Benson ruled against an lbw appeal where the ball hit both the pad and the bat off Edwards bowling.
The video review by third umpire Rudi Koertzen showed the ball hit Mills’ pad before deflecting on to his bat, confirming he should have been out.
Two earlier reviews on Saturday by Koertzen after the West Indies appealed not out rulings involving batsmen Ryder and Mark Gillespie resulted in the umpires’ decisions being upheld.
Flynn became the first New Zealander to be given out in a video review on Thursday, falling five runs short of his maiden Test century after Koertzen studied video replays of an lbw appeal off Gayle’s bowling.
The two match series is being used for only the second time in Tests to trial the experimental review rule, where both fielding sides and batsmen can ask for a video review of umpires’ decisions on dismissals.
Scoreboard
NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings):
T.G. McIntosh c Baker b Gayle 34
J.M. How c Chanderpaul b Powell 10
D.R. Flynn lbw b Gayle 95
L.R.P.L. Taylor c Marshall b Gayle 15
J.D. Ryder c Chanderpaul b Powell 89
B.B. McCullum c Ramdin b Taylor 25
J.E.C. Franklin hit wkt b Edwards 7
D.L. Vettori c Marshall b Powell 30
K.D. Mills lbw b Edwards 12
M.R. Gillespie not out 16
I.E. O’Brien c and b Edwards 4
EXTRAS (LB-16, W-9, NB-3) 28
TOTAL (all out, 116 overs) 365
FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-97, 3-128, 4-189, 5-278, 6-289, 7-310, 8-327, 9-347.
BOWLING: Taylor 23-7-61-1; Powell 24-7-68-3; Edwards 22-4-91-3; Baker 25-3-85-0; Gayle 21-2-42-3; Nash 1-0-2-0.
WEST INDIES (1st Innings):
C.H. Gayle not out 29
S. Chattergoon not out 9
EXTRAS (B-1) 1
TOTAL (for no wkt, 14 overs) 39
TO BAT: R.R. Sarwan, X.M. Marshall, S. Chanderpaul, B.P. Nash, D. Ramdin, J.E. Taylor, D.B.L. Powell, F.H. Edwards, L.S. Baker.
BOWLING (to-date): Gillespie 5-1-19-0; Mills 5-0-14-0; O’Brien 2-1-4-0; Vettori 2-1-1-0.—AFP
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