Shai Hope and Justin Greaves stretched the contest into the fifth day

On a slowing Hagley Oval surface, Shai Hope and Justin Greaves drained New Zealand’s depleted bowling attack as West Indies stretched the contest into the fifth day.

Forced off the field on day three due to an eye infection, Hope returned on the fourth day wearing sunglasses under his helmet and produced a composed, unbeaten 116. He had scored 56 in the first innings, and this was his second century in his last three Test innings.

At the other end, Justin Greaves played an unbeaten 55 off 143 balls, showing admirable restraint. Their unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 140 runs left New Zealand’s bowling unit under immense pressure.

New Zealand’s injury troubles kept piling up. Nathan Smith missed the entire innings with a side strain, while Matt Henry left the field after the 35th over for scans. As a result, stand-in captain Tom Latham was forced to depend on the part-time spin of Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell, with Jacob Duffy left as the only regular pacer.

Early in his innings, Hope had to deal with Duffy’s sustained short-ball plan. Though tempted to pull at times, he remained composed and raised his fourth Test century off 139 balls. Greaves, too, handled the same tactic with patience. He was slightly more aggressive against spin, but his priority remained occupation of the crease.

Earlier, West Indies had been under immediate pressure from the new-ball burst of Foulkes and Henry. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (6) struggled with his frequent shuffle across the crease and eventually inside-edged a short ball to the keeper. One over earlier, John Campbell was dismissed by Foulkes’ away-swinger, with Bracewell taking a sharp low catch at second slip.

Alick Athanaze fell to a mistimed pull against Bracewell’s bounce, while Roston Chase once again perished in similar fashion to the first innings—nicking a Henry away-swinger while rooted to the crease.

At 72 for 4, a four-day defeat seemed inevitable, but the grit of Hope and Greaves carried the fight into the fifth day, even though chasing the massive target of 531 remains purely unrealistic.

Earlier in the morning, New Zealand surprised many by choosing to continue batting—likely to give their injury-hit bowling group more rest. Kemar Roach claimed five wickets, finishing with 5 for 78 and taking his career tally to 290 wickets.

West Indies’ spirited resistance means the final day still holds interest, even if the result looks predictable.