NZ vs ENG 2019: Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor score centuries as New Zealand draw second Test, take series 1-0

After thrashing England in the opening game of the series, New Zealand stepped positively in the second Test to repeat the history. However, this time England showed the determination as skipper Joe Root led from the front and scored a magnificent double ton to take his team to a strong total of 476 in the first innings.

The rain turned out to be a real villain as it killed a lot of valuable time, and eventually, the final Test ended in a draw.

Earlier, in the last session of Day 4, hosts came to bat but lost their openers early at 28, but then came New Zealand’s most experienced duo, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who took the team’s total to 96 at stumps.

When the Day 5 started, English fans hoped that Stuart Broad would rerun his magic, but this time it didn’t work as the pair of Williamson and Taylor did something for which they are famous for; a crucial partnership stand to help their team cruise through a stage where the Test ended in a draw which is rare these days.

Both Taylor and Williamson added 213 runs before the rain arrived. England’s Sam Curran, who sent Jeet Raval on a duck, came to bowl 43rd over of the innings when Williamson played a glorious stroke of Curran’s first ball towards mid-wicket for four and completed his 32nd half-century.

Taylor was also playing equivalent as in the very next over, he reached his 32nd Test fifty after cutting an outside off-stump delivery bowled by Ben Stokes towards backward point region for a boundary.

Five overs later, Jofra Archer produced an opportunity to send Kiwi skipper back in the hut, but it got wasted as Joe Denly dropped a lollipop. Archer bowled a knuckleball, and Williamson was early into his shot and chipped it straight to Denly at short mid-wicket, but he put down a sitter. Archer was shocked as that was probably the most straightforward catch one could get on a cricket field.

Williamson, on the other hand, capitalized the lifeline and ended up scoring his 21st Test century. Soon after, Taylor also reached his 19th Test century when he took opposition skipper Joe Root to cleaners. Taylor hit two consecutive sixes in the 75th overs bowled by Root to reach his hundred.

Ross Taylor also completed 7000 runs in Test cricket and became the second Kiwi batsman to do so after former skipper Stephen Fleming.

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CATEGORY: England Joe Root Kane Williamson New Zealand Ross Taylor Test

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