And that brings down the curtains on a terrific and entertaining first T20I of the five-match series. The positive is you have to wait less than 24 hours for the second T20I that comes tomorrow right here. We'll see you then. On behalf of Sudeep and Thilak, this is Sreshth saying bye. Thanks a ton for your company.

Shai Hope, winning captain: [Bowling unit delivered] Communication is key in crucial moments. We didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Mitch's hitting was scary, but communication was clear and we executed well. [First-innings total] We were few runs short but seeing how the surface was for both teams, it was fine. We had to be more a bit too clinical in the powerplay. I might have gone a bit too hard early since I was eyeing a 200-plus total, so it wasn't be."

Mitchell Santner, losing captain: I think the way WI bowled they put pressure on us. We weren't able to go anywhere. We were reasonably happy with 164 at the halfway mark. [Tough start to the series] You come up against a good side and they bowled what they needed to. But I think, the good start of ours with the ball was outstanding. All our seamers did well. To restrict them, we were happy. The powerplay was good with the bat but those middle overs really slowed us down. [Lessons from tonight] Whenever we are confronted tomorrow on a similar wicket, we'll take the learnings. But we don't want to dwell too much on it. We'll discuss what we can potentially improve on."

Roston Chase, player of the match: "It came out well from my hand. We learnt from what NZ bowlers did. It was difficult to score when you hit into the wicket and take the pace off. [Lowest total ever defended at Eden Park] It gives us a lot of confidence to start a series with a win. We also spoke about it. It's also Jason Holder's birthday so we wanted to give him a good birthday gift."

10.53pm It looked like a one-sided win going the visitors' way, but the New Zealand captain's final act left people in awe of his hitting and West Indies fans very nervous. Eventually, all the good work done by Chase and Seales - who both finished with three-fors - and, to an extent, Forde, ensured West Indies held on for the win.

Looking back, New Zealand's collapse from 70 for 2 to 107 for 9 proved too much to recover from. Chase strangled the left-hand batters, Seales cranked up the pace, and Forde's swing movement was wonderful. Credit also to Holder and Shepherd for doing their bit in an XI missing genuine fast bowlers because of injuries and relying heavily on seam-bowling allrounders.

The innings played by Shai Hope (53 off 39) and Rovman Powell (33 off 23) also ended up being crucial. Chase's 27-ball 28, which at one point looked like a long-drawn bore, proved to be a decent hand once we saw how Conway, Ravindra, Neesham, and Chapman struggled.

Manthan Jain : "With all due respect santner has become a really good stroke maker with bat who can just play proper cricketing shots with elegance and the ball is literally travelling most of the time he connect he should be tried as a pinch hitter at 5 to provide impetus...."

Srineet: "The West Indies T20 team are a force to reckon with even with some big names retired or not in the reckoning!"

Frase: "Congratulations to the West Indies, great defensive bowling performance! Although, shame to see a poor umpiring call in the final over that would have added some real jeopardy. Good game to Santner as well. Bring on the next game."

Sunitha : "Poor captaincy from Shai Hope. He is going to the bowlers after every ball. That will only add to the pressure to everyone in the field"

New Zealand's highest 10th wicket stand in T20Is.

another conference. Shepherd talking to Hope, Holder, Chase and others.

Best case scenario for Santner, if you ask me. He can approach this over with a clear mind. He either runs two or looks for boundaries. Nothing in between. And for some reason I feel it's WI who are feeling the pressure more than NZ even though the odds are heavily stacked in the visitors' favour. It's Romario who will bowl.

Umair: "I take my comments back. Take a bow Santner for making a match of it. NZ can win this"

Birthday boy will bowl the penultimate over. Santner on strike.

Frase: "I think of Mitchell Santner as a preying mantis. Seizes on any opportunity in a fraction of a second, all knees and elbows. Pretty different and awesome to watch!"

Forde conceded nine runs in his first three overs. But he's gone for 18 in this one. Plus two balls to go. Field adjustments, discussions happening before the fifth ball.

Srineet: "There is too much sameness in the Black caps T20 side. Middle-order left handers who cannot clear the boundary at will. They are really missing Glenn Phillips who offers variety in batting, bowling and fielding."