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Rain disrupts West Indies' bold recovery

Hamilton - The weather threatened to influence the outcome of the deciding second Test between New Zealand and the West Indies with a 90-minute break in play midway through day two in Hamilton on Sunday.

Stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite was leading a bold West Indies fightback when heavy drizzle set in to send the players from the field.

With further showers forecast for the next two days, the weather threatened to curtail the playing time in a match the West Indies need to win if they are to square the two-Test series.

Play resumed 20 minutes after the scheduled tea break with the West Indies 87 for two in reply to New Zealand's 373.

Brathwaite, dropped on 14 by Tom Latham, had advanced to 45 with Shai Hope on 14 in an unbeaten 41-run stand for the third wicket.

Trent Boult, the unfortunate bowler when Latham spilled a chance, made no mistake when a catch went his way as he displayed impressive athleticism to twist and dive to complete a caught and bowled offering from Shimron Hetmyer on 28.

It was a brief but potent stand by the 20-year-old Hetmyer who opened his stay at the crease with a six off Boult.

Boult and Tim Southee, backed up their entertaining 61-run stand for the last wicket in New Zealand's innings, to take the two wickets to fall.

Boult has one for 32 off nine overs while Southee, who claimed the wicket of Kieran Powell without scoring in the opening over, has one for 13 off six overs.

Neil Wagner, New Zealand's most successful bowler in the first Test, proved expensive in a brief four-over spell which cost 32 runs.

The West Indies spent a lot of time between the Tests working on ways to handle Wagner's menacing short deliveries and it paid off as Brathwaite clobbered 21 off his first two overs and Hope put the ball into and over the fence in the next two.

New Zealand's last three wickets added 87 runs in the morning session, the bulk of them provided by Southee and Boult.

Mixing classic strokes with unorthodox cuts and pulls, Southee faced 39 balls for his 31 and hit two sixes and a four.

Boult had two sixes and five fours in his 37 off 27 deliveries.

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