Mitchell Santner's explosive late innings (28-ball 55*) ultimately went to waste as the West Indies secured a nail-biting seven-run victory over New Zealand in the first T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday. The groundwork for this win was laid by Roston Chase's impressive all-round performance (28 runs and 3 wickets for 26), complemented by Shai Hope's solid half-century and Jayden Seales's three crucial wickets. Batting first, the West Indies stumbled out of the gate, losing Brandon King in the very first over. Hope and Alick Athanaze struggled to find their rhythm initially, but Athanaze finally broke free late in the fourth over, launching a six and a couple of boundaries to inject some energy into the innings, only to fall shortly after. While Hope managed to find the boundary or clear the ropes almost every over, New Zealand kept a tight grip on the game for a while, limiting the visitors to 66 for 3 at the halfway point. However, the scoring rate surged in the latter half, with Chase and Rovman Powell delivering a late surge that propelled the West Indies to a total of 164 for 6. Although this score was somewhat modest one that New Zealand would have been content to chase the unpredictable nature of the two-paced pitch raised some eyebrows. The West Indies made the most of that advantage. Read also: Haris Rauf Banned After Asia Cup Misconduct, Suryakumar Yadav Under ICC Watch Santner’s late heroics fall short as West Indies hold on for a thrilling win New Zealand started strong, with Devon Conway and Tim Robinson racking up 30 runs in the first three overs, but the West Indies quickly fought back. Conway was bowled out, and Robinson edged one to the sweeper cover. Chase, Akeal Hosein, and Seales kept taking wickets at regular intervals during the middle overs, leaving New Zealand struggling at 88 for 6. James Neesham was dropped on just 3 runs, but he failed to capitalize on that chance, getting caught at long off less than two overs later. By the middle of the 17th over, New Zealand found themselves in dire straits at 108 for 9. With victory slipping away, Santner made a valiant attempt to turn the tide. He took on the West Indian bowlers, hammering Matthew Forde for four boundaries and a six, then followed it up with three consecutive boundaries off Jason Holder in the next over. With 19 needed off the final over, Romario Shepherd delivered two consecutive dots. Santner hit a six off the third delivery, but wasn't able to follow that up with more for the rest of the over as the visitors escaped with a thrilling win.