New Zealand defeated West Indies by 323 runs at Mount Maunganui to win the 3-match Test series 2-0. The first match of the series was a draw, in the second the New Zealand team won by 9 wickets. After this, the host team won the series by winning the third match also. New Zealand had set a target of 462 runs for West Indies, chasing which the Caribbean team was reduced to just 138 runs on the last day of the match (22 December).

At one time West Indies’ score was 87 runs without any loss and it seemed that the match would be a draw but the stormy bowling of Jacob Duffy dashed the hopes of Roston Chase’s team. This right-arm fast bowler, who is going to play for RCB in IPL 2026, took 5 wickets for 42 runs and played an important role in helping New Zealand win. He also took 4 wickets in the first innings. That means Duffy took a total of 9 wickets for 128 runs in the match. This is his best bowling performance in a test match.

Richard Hadlee’s record broken

Duffy, 31, broke the 40-year-old record of legendary Kiwi all-rounder Richard Hadlee when he completed a five-wicket haul in West Indies’ second innings. In fact, Duffy has become the bowler taking the most wickets for New Zealand in a calendar year. He took a total of 81 wickets in international cricket in the year 2025. Whereas Richard Hadlee had taken 79 wickets in 1985.

Will Duffy become RCB’s trump card?

Jacob Duffy has performed well this year in all three formats: Test, ODI and T20I. He took 25 wickets in Test, 21 in ODI and 35 wickets in T20I. He can become a trump card for RCB in the upcoming IPL season. Duffy was bought by RCB at the base price (Rs 2 crore) in the IPL 2026 auction. He is currently being seen as a backup to Josh Hazlewood, because there is always doubt about Hazlewood’s fitness.