‘A repeat of India 2001’ – New Zealand stuns England with 1-run win after following on in Wellington
New Zealand (Source – Twitter)
England locked horns against New Zealand in the second and final Test of the series which took place in Basin Reserve, Wellington, which kicked off on February 24. The hosts won the toss and elected to bowl first. New Zealand brought in Will Young and Matt Henry in place of Scott Kuggelejin and Blair Tickner, respectively. On the other side, the visitors were unchanged.
England scored 435 runs for the loss of 8 wickets and declared their innings. Harry Brook scored a magnificent ton and went on to score 186 runs off 176 balls, whereas former England skipper Joe Root played an unbeaten knock of 153 runs off 224 balls. The star of Blackcaps bowling was Henry who took four wickets in his spell of 22.1 overs and conceded 100 runs. Two wickets were taken by spinner Michael Bracewell and 1-1 wicket each was taken by pacers Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.
New Zealand while batting was able to score only 209 runs. Southee was the top scorer for his team as he scored 73 runs off 49 balls with five fours and six sixes. Tom Blundell was the second-highest run-getter for the Kiwis with 38 runs off 79 balls with five boundaries. For England, Stuart Broad took four wickets, and 3-3 wickets were taken by James Anderson and Jack Leech.
Harry Brook awarded the Player of the Series award
New Zealand was given a follow-on after their disappointing performance in the first innings. Batting for the second time in the Test, Kiwis scored 483 runs before getting bundled out. The hosts set a target of 258 runs for the Three Lions to chase in order to equalize the two-match Test series. The highest scorer in the inning was the Gujarat franchise player Kane Williamson with 132 runs off 282 balls and Blundell with 90 runs off 166 ball. The top performer for England was Leach with five wickets and Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, Root and Brook took 1-1 wicket each.
England while chasing a target of 258 runs, fall one short and the Blackcaps registered a historic Test victory at Wellington. The highest scorer for the visitors was once again Root who scored 95 runs off 113 bals with eight fours and three sixes. Ben Foakes, Ben Duckett and England skipper Bem Stokes got dismissed after scoring runs in 30s.
Wagner took four wickets, Southee took three wickets and Henry took two wickets in the last innings. Williamson was awarded the Player of the Match and Brook was awarded the Player of the Series award for their brilliant performances in a match and in the series respectively.
Here’s how fan’s reacted on social media after New Zealand’s historic Test victory:
https://twitter.com/7CRICKETFOREVER/status/1630433617276211200
2019 final ka badla pura hua
— ABD-Ankit (@AnkitSa31351735) February 28, 2023
"To dekha aapne laparwahi ka natija"#BenStokes #NZvsENG #bazball #1run
— Cricket Updates (@Cricket23002283) February 28, 2023
https://twitter.com/AninditaB_AB/status/1630407629565730816
https://twitter.com/ItsRoshan124/status/1630407642622611458
T20 and ODI: We are best, people love us most
Meanwhile Test cricket to other formats pic.twitter.com/fENcLEKltl
— ً (@SarcasticCowboy) February 28, 2023
Frankly the brand of cricket #ECB is playing is too good. Bound to loose some but overall this is tremendous for the game #ENGvsNZ
— Varun #PlsMaskup #Vaccinatedcompletly (@varun_blues) February 28, 2023
1 run ki keemat tum kya jano…
— Cric Wizard (@CricWizz_13579) February 28, 2023
BGT mein toh teen din chalta hai bass
— Cricket Fan 07 (@Manas_pr_sharma) February 28, 2023
A repeat of India 2001. Won a test after getting a follow on
— Puneet Goel (@puneetgoels) February 28, 2023
