New Zealand vs West Indies 2017: 5 reasons why the Windies can beat the Kiwis in the Test series

#1 The form of Shai Hope

Shai Hope was brilliant in the last few Test matches

When Shai Hope made his Test debut in 2015 against England, it was on the back of a mountain of runs in the domestic circuit. However, he couldn’t replicate his domestic success at the international level and his international career got off to a miserable start.

In 11 Tests, he scored 391 runs at a miserable average of 18.62. But then came the Test match at Headingley and the tides turned. He became the first batsman to register twin centuries at Headingley. He scored 147 and 118 (not out) to help West Indies register a memorable win.

And he hasn’t looked back since. He has become the pillar of the Windies batting line-up. Even on turning tracks in Zimbabwe, when most batsmen failed, he put his hand up and bailed his side out of trouble. In his last seven innings, Hope has scored 530 runs. Hence, an in-form Shai Hope is a major threat to the New Zealand side and if he gets going, he can take the Windies to decent totals.