Carlos Brathwaite’s late assault on New Zealand bowlers in the World Cup 2019 fixture in Manchester reminded everyone of his heroic blitz on that April eve at the Eden Gardens.
It’s been three years since West Indies’ five-run defeat to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup match at Old Trafford in Manchester.
The knock remains one of the best knocks for the Caribbean team, although it came in a losing cause.
Ian Bishop’s piece of commentary after Trent Boult took a sharp catch at long on to get rid of Carlos Brathwaite still reverberates.
It took a staggering three years for Carlos Brathwaite to remind the cricketing world of his capabilities as a power-hitter.
New Zealand and West Indies last met in a men’s international in the 2019 ICC @cricketworldcup, and it was a blast 💥
✅ A Kane Williamson ton
✅ A Carlos Brathwaite ton
✅ A nail-biting win for 🇳🇿🎥 Revisit the epic clash ahead of the first #NZvWI T20I pic.twitter.com/Q94JTkalJ3
— ICC (@ICC) November 26, 2020
After being asked to chase down 292 by the Black Caps, West Indies started on a horrendous note as Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran perished in double quick time.
However, a 122-run stand between Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer got their team back in the hunt for a victory.
In walked Brathwaite, with his side still 150 runs away from the target. He soon saw the back of Gayle, Ashley Nurse and the injured Evin Lewis, that completed a remarkable collapse which saw West Indies stumble from 142-2 to 164-7 by the end of the 27th over.
Thereafter, the 33-year-old Brathwaite, batting at No.6, took charge and scored 101 runs off 82 balls with nine fours and five sixes.
For the all-rounder, the previous two World Cup outings were a struggle, as was his ODI career as a lower middle-order batsman till that point, with just one fifty from 31 previous innings.
Two lower-order partnerships with Kemar Roach and Sheldon Cottrell of 47 and 34 respectively revived hopes, but when the latter fell with Windies still needing 47 off the last five overs, the ask looked virtually impossible.
It was at this point when the real carnage was unleashed. He kept smacking the balls one after the other, opting to keep the No.11 Oshane Thomas away from the strike.
Windies needed 33 from three overs and the Barbados giant smacking three sixes and a four to reduce the equation to eight off the final two.
Three dots from James Neesham followed, but a brace thereafter completed one of the finest hundreds in World Cup history. Windies were now a hit away.
Two balls later, Brathwaite smacked a short of length ball high into the night sky towards wide mid-on and for a moment, it seamed that the game had been sealed.
However, in a terrible anti-climax for the all-rounder, Trent Boult stood still, maintained his composure and balance to complete a decisive breath-taking catch right at the edge of the ropes and sealed a five-run win for the Blackcaps.
Thereafter, Brathwaite went down on his haunches in sheer agony and disappointment, after which Ross Taylor consoled him.
ended in a dramatic fashion for Jason Holder’s men, who were knocked out of the semi-final contention after the heart-breaking loss.