New Zealand have boosted their prospects of a second appearance in the ICC World Test Championship Final with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over the West Indies.
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WELLINGTON — New Zealand have boosted their prospects of a second appearance in the ICC World Test Championship Final with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second Test in Wellington on Friday.
The win earned New Zealand 12 World Test Championship points and allowed the 2021 champions to leapfrog Pakistan and India to join Sri Lanka in third place on the standings.
New Zealand now have a win-loss percentage of 66.67, with leaders Australia (100 percent) and second-placed South Africa (75 percent) the only teams ahead of them.
New Zealand’s bowlers did the damage on the third day at the Basin Reserve, with Jacob Duffy’s five-wicket haul helping the hosts dismiss the West Indies for just 128 in their second innings.
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That left New Zealand requiring only 56 for victory and a 1-0 series lead. Devon Conway (28 not out) and Kane Williamson (16 not out) guided them home after the early loss of skipper Tom Latham for nine.
Speaking about the win, New Zealand skipper Latham said, "We sort of got better and better. We probably took a little bit to get up to the game in the morning of day one. Obviously, there was particularly some weary legs, a bit of a hangover from the first Test. But we got better and better.
"And then obviously in the second innings, I thought we bowled fantastically well and sort of adjusted things a little bit in terms of how we wanted to operate."
It was New Zealand’s first win of the 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The West Indies, meanwhile, have now lost six of their seven outings in this cycle and remain winless.
The third Test between New Zealand and West Indies will commence in Mount Maunganui on December 18.