Gaurav Gill puts on commendable performance in Rally of Otago
JK Tyre's Gaurav Gill showcased a strong performance in the Rally of Otago, securing a top 3 finish on day 1. He maintained his third position consistently until stage 10.
Doubleton (205) from wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling helped New Zealand thrash England by an innings and 65 runs in the first Test of the two-match series on Monday.
Resuming their second innings at 55 for 3, none of the England batters could dig in their heels and as a result the Three Lions got bowled out for 197 runs in the final session of Day 5 at the Bay Oval in Maunganui.
Left-arm pacer Neil Wagner, who had taken three wickets in the first innings, ended up with a fifer (5 for 44) in the following innings.
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Talking about England’s batting, Joe Denly (35), Rory Burns (31) and Jofra Archer (30) showed some resilience but couldn’t avoid the defeat.
Archer, along with Sam Curran (29), did delay the win for the Black Caps. However, it was too much a task for the lower-order batters as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Santner also took three wickets in the second innings.
Earlier, English skipper Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat. England posted 353 runs before New Zealand scored a mammoth 615 for 9 declared in reply. Double century from Watling and ton (126) from Mitchell Santner helped Kiwis’ cause.
In the process, Watling became the first New Zealand wicketkeeper to score a double hundred in Test cricket.
The two teams will now face each other in the second and final Test beginning Friday at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Notably, the ongoing two-match Test series is not a part of the ICC World Test Championship and thus results will have no bearing on the points table.
Brief scores: England 353 and 197 (Joe Denly 35, Rory Burns 31, Neil Wagner 5/44); New Zealand 615 for 9 declared won by an innings and 46 runs.
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