By: Mohit Singhal
ENG Vs NZ: This series will be well remembered for the aggressive touch England gave to the test cricket and the intensity with which they chased down the target of over 280 in three consecutive matches. The courtesy to this feat can be given to former skipper Joe Root and the humongous show “Jonny Bairstow.”
The duo continued the destruction in the 3rd and the last test too where England chased down the target of 296 in merely 54.2 overs with 7 wickets in hand.
While Root scored an unbeaten 86 (125 balls, 11 fours, and a Six), Ollie Pope made 82 runs before Tim Southee rattled his off stump just after the commencement of the last day of play.
The real demolition started when Bairstow took the charge smashing at a strike rate of above 150. The white-ball specialist took no time to score 71* to ensure a white-wash of the Blackcaps and the first clean sweep series win for England at home since a 4-0 win against India in 2011.
The new era of Stokes and McCullum couldn’t have demanded more than chasing 113 runs in just 15.3 overs after they chased down 160 runs in 16 overs in the 2nd test at Trent Bridge.
For New Zealand, apart from the pair of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, who made four 100+ partnerships in this series, every other thing looked patchy. Mitchell and Root jointly got the player of the series.
Batting first, New Zealand made 329 runs with Mitchell scoring his 3rd successive century in this series. Jack Leach opened his first five-for in the tests in England.
England replied with 360 in their first innings where Jonny Bairstow (162) and Jamie Overton (97) rescued the hosts by adding 241-runs for the 7th wicket. Trent Boult scalped 4 wickets which included the furious first spell by him.
In their second innings, Kiwis finished the things at 326, thanks to another crucial alliance between Mitchell and Blundell. Keeper Tom scored 88 not-out while Tom Latham at the top made 76.
Jack leach had another fifer and registered his best figures in a test match with (10/166)
Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson had a pretty bad tour where he became the prey of Matty Potts 3 times in the 4 innings he played.
Chasing the huge score, England went on to win the match and complete the white-wash they were missing for a long. They created history by becoming the first team to chase three consecutive 280+ scores in a series.
Now, England will face the Indian challenge for a one-off test match that is going to start on July 1st at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
