In Wellington on December 12, Jacob Duffy achieved his second five-wicket haul of the series, leading New Zealand to a commanding nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second Test. With this win, New Zealand now holds a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series, with one game left to play.

The West Indies were bowled out for a mere 128 in their second innings, presenting a modest target of just 56 for New Zealand. In pursuit of this total, opener Devon Conway remained steady with an unbeaten 28 runs off 22 deliveries, while Kane Williamson contributed a quick 16 off 12 balls to secure the victory.

This marks New Zealand's inaugural win in the 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The West Indies, on the other hand, have faced defeat in six of their seven matches during this cycle, remaining without a victory.

Choosing to field first, New Zealand dismissed the West Indies for 205 on the opening day. Blair Tickner stood out as the leading bowler but unfortunately dislocated his shoulder, preventing him from continuing in the Test.

Although New Zealand faced some challenges in their first innings, half-centuries from Conway (60) and Mitchell Hay (61) enabled them to establish a 73-run lead.

The visitors struggled significantly in their second innings. After losing two wickets in the first ten overs before stumps on day two, they seemed to start well on the third morning, surviving the initial half-hour unscathed. However, a mix-up led to Brandon King being run out, which sparked a batting collapse.

Shai Hope fell shortly thereafter in the same over, closing the face of the bat to give Michael Rae an easy return catch. Captain Roston Chase followed soon after, edging a rising delivery from Duffy to the wicketkeeper.

Hodge and first-Test star Justin Greaves (25) briefly steadied the ship, but in the 31st over, Hodge's well-timed pull shot went directly to substitute Will Young, who took a sharp catch at midwicket.

At 88 for 6, with the lead still under 20, the match was effectively sealed. Duffy trapped Greaves lbw after a review and then had Tevin Imlach edging a loose drive to second slip. Rae picked up his third wicket by removing Jayden Seales caught behind, before Duffy completed his five-wicket haul as No. 11 Ojay Shields misplayed a pull to fine leg.

In pursuit of the modest target, New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Conway added 26 runs in seven overs before Latham edged a leading edge to third slip off Anderson Phillip. Conway then counterattacked with six boundaries in his unbeaten 28, with Williamson’s brisk 16 off 12 in the tenth over sealing the victory.

Summary of scores: New Zealand 278/9 declared (Hay 61, Conway 60, Phillip 3/70) and 57/1 (Conway 28*, Williamson 16*, Phillip 1/17) beat West Indies 205 (Hope 47, Tickner 4/32) and 128 (Hodge 35, Duffy 5/38, Rae 3/45) by nine wickets.