Tea New Zealand 609 for 9 dec and 79 for 4 (Anderson 20*, Taylor 16*, Shillingford 4-16) need 33 to win v West Indies 213 and 507 (Bravo 218, Sammy 80, Wagner 3-112)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A devastating opening spell from Shane Shillingford raised hopes of a surprise West Indies win in Dunedin, but Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson calmed New Zealand's nerves with an unbeaten 35-run stand to bring the home team within 33 runs of a win before rains arrived. Tea was called ten minutes early, but the drizzle is not likely to last long.
Shillingford didn't have much of an impact in the first couple of days on a pitch that was hard and had even grass cover, bowling 46 overs for one wicket. But after four days of battering under the blazing sun, the grass had been smothered and Shillingford, Sammy must have known, was West Indies' only chance of turning the tables on New Zealand. He was pressed into action straightaway in the last innings and it took him only seven balls to make an impact.
In the last over before lunch, Fulton missed a flick but Ramdin appealed for a catch down the leg side. The umpire, Paul Reiffel, didn't show any interest, but the Hot-Spot highlighted a faint nick after West Indies asked for a review. Two overs later, Aaron Redmond fell into a trap, clipping a sharply turning delivery straight into the hands of Narsingh Deonarine at leg gully.
Another two overs later, the offspinner lured Hamish Rutherford into playing a lofted shot and the batsman obliged, hitting a boundary wide of the long-on fielder. The next ball was tossed up again and Rutherford couldn't resist himself. He went for a repeat of the first shot, but this time he lobbed it straight into the hands of the long-on fielder, falling in exactly the same way as in the first innings. 'What a shot,' said a close-in fielder as Rutherford whacked his bat on his pads in disappointment.
At 22 for 3, New Zealand were in serious trouble, but would have put their money on the experienced pair of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor to see them through the tricky period. Both batsmen continued from where they left in the first innings, Taylor staying solid, while McCullum blasted the first ball he faced through covers. But McCullum's aggression consumed him as he top-edged an attempted sweep off the one that goes the other way for Denesh Ramdin to pouch an easy chance.
While Shillingford bowled unchanged for 15 overs, the other bowlers were not able to create chances. Anderson drilled three boundaries through cover off the seamers and rose in confidence, taking on Shillingford with a powerful sweep as well to score 20, while Taylor was on 16 with the help of two boundaries.
The match was, however, set up by a stubborn resistance in the first session from the West Indies lower order. Sammy, derided recently during the Test in India for his irresponsible batting didn't let New Zealand take control after the fall of Darren Bravo in the third over of the day. He ran his runs hard despite an injury to his hamstring and added 38 vital runs with Shillingford for the eighth wicket.
With the pitch offering uneven bounce, the New Zealand seamers targeted the stumps, with Trent Boult getting a few deliveries to hit high on the bat. On one instance, Boult drew the outside edge of Sammy's bat only to see it drop short of Ross Taylor at first slip. In the same over, Sammy had another nervous moment when the ball spun back towards the stumps after he had defended it off the back foot, but he showed incredible football skills to kick the ball towards deep square leg, stretching his hamstring in the process.
When Sammy got the ball in his hitting zone though, he didn't hold himself back. A couple of length deliveries were blasted through cover and over the infield and a long hop from Ish Sodhi was bludgeoned over deep midwicket.
Shillingford played his part as well, adding 15 useful runs in an hour-long stay at the crease, before he edged Neil Wagner to first slip. Tino Best hung around for 21 minutes, but his stay was ended in a similar fashion. With only the No. 11 for company, Sammy threw his bat at the first delivery with the third new ball and sliced it to deep cover, but he ensured 54 useful runs were added after Bravo's exit.
575 minutes. That is how long it took New Zealand to break past Bravo's stubborn resistance during the course of which he scored his maiden double-century and helped West Indies wipe out the 396-run deficit after they were forced to follow on. But more importantly for the home side, the dismissal came early on the final day, relieving the smidgen of tension the clouds gathering over may have caused. It was also the early boost the bowling attack needed after having bowled more than 200 overs on the trot.
Boult, in the third over of the day, tested Bravo with a yorker that reversed in, but it was dealt with the ease one would expect from a batsman in the zone - he had gone past 2000 Test runs in Boult's previous over. But it took the misdemeanor of the fifth-day pitch that shook Bravo out of his zone as the next delivery sneaked under his bat to strike the off stump.
The late riposte, however, gave West Indies a fighting chance in the Test that seemed out of reach 24 hours ago.
NZ inch closer, but rain arrives
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NZ inch closer, but rain arrives
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NZ inch closer, but rain arrives
