Above: Andre Russell (Digicelcricket.com/Brooks LaTouche)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The West Indies topped New Zealand Thursday with a nine-wicket victory in the first One-day International at Sabina Park in Kingston.

The match marked a homecoming of sorts for Jamaica’s Chris Gayle, who played his first international match in Jamaica since his return to the Windies following a nearly two-year hiatus.

The victory came under the Duckworth-Lewis method as the Windies successfully chased a revised target of 136 from 33 overs on a rain-soaked day.

West Indies bowler Andre Russell took home the Man-of-the-Match award, grabbing four wickets for 45 runs from 10 overs, and upstaging a half-century from BJ Watling, as the Black Caps posted 190 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs.

The result gave the Windies a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which continues Saturday, also at Sabina Park.