New Zealand and England are playing against each other in the second Test of the two-match series at the Basin Reserve ground in Wellington. The visitors ended up winning the first Test by a huge margin and will be looking forward to win the series in the second Test. The Ben Stokes led side were wrapped up for 280 runs in the first innings wherein Harry Brook slammed a brilliant hundred and played a knock of 123 runs from 115 balls. On the other hand, the hosts were reduced to 85/5 in 26 overs.
New Zealand, who are generally known for their brilliant fielding standards, took a blinder at slips to dismiss Joe Root. On the first ball of the 11th over, Nathan Smith bowled a length ball which took the edge of Root’s bat. The ball travelling, but Daryl Mitchell known for his splendid fielding took a brilliant one handed flying catch and ended Root’s innings at just 3 runs. Root wasn’t able to perform in the first Test as well and is currently running behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most Test runs.
England and New Zealand are almost out of contention from qualifying for the World Test Championship 2023-25 final. The English team has played the most Test matches in the current WTC cycle, however, they haven’t not been able to maintain the consistency needed for making it to the finals of the competition. On the other hand, Kiwis generated a bit of possibility of qualifying for the WTC finals after defeating India by 3-0 on their home soil. However, after losing to England, it is extremely difficult for the Kiwis for making it to WTC finals.
