ENG vs NZ 1st Test Match Summary:
England started their new era under the captain-coach duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum on a good note as they beat the current test champions New Zealand by wickets in the first test of 3-test match series.
The former skipper of England was remained the star of the match as he not only smashed the winning runs for his team just like the old times, but also hit a century in a 277 run chase game at Lord’s.
On top of that, Joe Root completed 10,000 runs in test cricket and became the 14th player in the history of world cricket to achieve this milestone.
Notably, both teams failed to reach 150 in their first innings during the maiden Test match between England and New Zealand at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, New Zealand’s batters looked befuddled in the face of swing maestro James Anderson, who bowled both openers when the side was only at two wickets down. The England bowlers then carried on the momentum, dismissing Kane Williamson’s side for 132.
The ‘new era’ England team got off to a good start in their first innings with a 59-run first-wicket stand, and they were hoping to post a big total in front of an already struggling New Zealand side. But, Jamieson dismissed Jim Crawley when England were at 59 and After that, England only managed to score 83 more runs before being dismissed for 141.
For New Zealand, Tim Southee bagged 4 wickets, Trent Boult grabbed 3 wickets, Kyle Jamieson took 2, and Colin de Grandhomme took one wicket in the first innings.
In the second innings, despite yet another top-order collapse, an unbeaten 195-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell (108) and Tom Blundell (96) for the 5th wicket, has managed to take the New Zealand cross the 250 mark.
The visitors then only added 34 more runs and were bowled out at 285 to give England a 277 runs target to win the first test.
Chasing the target of 270 plus in fourth innings is not an easy task for any team but Joe Root made it simple for the host team. However, England were in trouble at one stage when they lost 4 big wickets at just 69 runs.
Then England’s current captain Ben Stokes and former skipper Joe Root put up a crucial 90-run partnership to get them back on track. After hitting 54, Stokes returned to the pavilion, but Root stood tall in the run chase, leading his team to victory with an unbeaten 115.
Player of the match – Joe Root
