Carty, Hope power West Indies to 7-wicket win against New Zealand

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Keacy Carty’s impressive 95 and Shai Hope’s unbeaten 87 guided West Indies to a comfortable seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening ODI in Guyana.

The duo combined for a match-winning 131-run partnership for the third wicket, helping the hosts successfully chase New Zealand’s total of 267 with seven balls remaining.

Carty played a key role in the chase, first building a partnership with opener Akeem Auguste who made 38 runs before joining forces with Shai Hope.

After surviving a narrow escape on 64, Carty went on to score 95 off 112 balls before being dismissed just short of a century.

Hope then took charge, hitting an unbeaten 87 and sealing the victory alongside Sherfane Rutherford with two crucial sixes in the 49th over.

New Zealand made a promising start after winning the toss, with Will Young and Henry Nicholls putting together an 80-run opening stand, while Daryl Mitchell top-scored with 65.

But their innings fell apart late, as they collapsed from 216 for 4 in the 40th over to lose their final six wickets for just 33 runs.

Several middle-order batters, including Michael Bracewell (29), Mark Chapman (27) and Tom Latham (25), got starts but failed to build on them.

Debut captain Vitel Lawes played a key role in West Indies’ bowling comeback, taking the wickets of Henry Nicholls, Mark Chapman, and Michael Bracewell to finish with impressive figures of 3-54.

The convincing chase gave West Indies a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.