ENG vs NZ 2nd Test Day 2 Match Summary:
New Zealand 329
England (49 ov) 264/6
Day 2 – England trail by 65 runs.
When England reached 55 for 6, Boult and Southee had destroyed the top order in a display of top-notch swing bowling. In his first Test of the tour, Neil Wagner got things going with a two-wicket maiden over. If New Zealand thought they would bat towards the end of the day, they were wrong. Jonny Bairstow had different things in mind. He took over and how! Finished his century at a 100+ Strike rate and no one was ready for it.
Newzealand started their day from where they left 225/5. We again saw great knocks from Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell. On day 2, NZ could add 104 runs to their innings. Mitchell continued his dream form and hit another century. After the dismissal of Tom Blundell, only Southee stayed on the crease for some time. He scored 33 runs off 29 balls.
Jack Leach was the star bowler for England. He ended his innings with 5 wicket haul. Stuart Broad was the next successful bowler. He took 3 wickets for his team. Potts and debutant Overton took 1-1 each.
England’s innings got off to a disastrous start. After pitching in the middle, Alex Lees (4) was struck with an unplayable Boult thunderbolt that nipped the top of his off stump. Zack Crawley (6) then had his middle stump rocked back by a Boult inswinger after Ollie Pope (5) had made five before having his off stump flattened as he played over the line.
After Joe Root (5) stole an angled delivery and left England 21-4, Tim Southee joined the game and had him caught behind. To momentarily stop New Zealand’s momentum, Stokes and Bairstow started to attack. However, Stokes, who appeared to carelessly attack every delivery, lost his wicket after chipping a Neil Wagner delivery to Kane Williamson at mid-off after having scored 18 off 13 balls.
What happened next was amongst the greatest comebacks from England in past few years. Bairstow again became the savior of his team. He along with Overton changed the shape of the game. As Bairstow and Overton went on the rampage, scoring at will and crushing New Zealand’s morale, the hosts scored 173 runs. No one was spared, including Boult, Southee, Wagner, and Bracewell, who all had no chance.
England trail just 65 runs behind. After losing 6 for 55, England has come a long way. All they need is to bat carefully.
