Ramdin, Chanderpaul keep WI afloat

Dec 19, 2013

With New Zealand 1-0 up in the series, it was imperative that West Indies began brightly. They were put into bat, with the openers tasked to provide the team a good start. Kieran Powell felt the aggression from the New Zealand bowlers straightaway, as he was felled by a nasty bouncer •Getty Images

Kraigg Brathwaite and Powell did well to blunt the initial charge from the New Zealand bowlers, but with the score on 41, Powell went after a shorter one from Neil Wagner, with the ball hitting the surface of the bat on its way to the keeper•Getty Images

Corey Anderson struck twice soon after as West Indies lost four wickets within five overs•Getty Images

The West Indies wicketkeeper crossed another landmark, bringing up his fourth Test century. Ramdin and Chanderpaul added 200 for the sixth wicket before Ramdin was dismissed by Anderson. Their stand, however, lifted West Indies from 86 for 5 to a relatively safe 289 for 6•Getty Images

Midway through his spell, Trent Boult was struck on the thumb and had to leave the field to tend to it •Getty Images

This brought Kirk Edwards to the crease, and together with Brathwaite, the pair continued to build. A number of close opportunities around the bat were made, with a few of them falling just short of the close-in fielders•Getty Images

Denesh Ramdin, along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, began to fight back and the pair headed into tea with a 56-run partnership to keep West Indies afloat•Getty Images

New Zealand came back strongly after lunch, removing two wickets in quick succession, including Brathwaite for 45•Getty Images

Ramdin would press on to reach a 12th Test fifty as their stand grew past a 100 runs•Getty Images