• New Zealand defeated England by a solitary run in the Wellington Test.

  • It was the fourth occasion when a team has won a Test after being asked to follow on.

Twitter erupts as New Zealand beat England by one run after the follow-on
New Zealand beat England in 2nd Test (Image Source: Twitter)

In one of the all-time great finishes, New Zealand defeated England by a solitary run in the second Test to level the two-match series 1-1 at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Tuesday (February 28).

Notably, the hosts were forced to follow on after getting bundled out for 209 in response to England’s 435/8 dec in their first innings. Now with the win, the Black Caps have become just the third team to win a Test match after being enforced a follow-on.

Overall, it was only the fourth occasion when a team won a Test after being asked to follow on. England managed it twice, both against Australia in 1894 and 1981, while India beat the Aussies in 2001.

Coming back to the Wellington Test, the Tim Southee-led side had set England a target of 258 runs to win. The contest went down to the wire, with the English team needing only two runs to win. However, the last man James Anderson was caught down the leg side off Neil Wagner, and the visitors were bundled out for 256.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 209 (Tim Southee 73, Stuart Broad 4/61, James Anderson 3/37) and 483 (Kane Williamson 132, Tom Blundell 90, Tom Latham 81, jack Leach 5/157) beat England 435-8 dec (Harry Brook 186, Joe Root 153 not out, Matt Henry 4/100) and 256 (Joe Root 95, Niel Wagner 4/62, Tim Southee 3/45) by 1 run.

“Right up there. A special win to come back after being asked to follow-on. The guys will soak this up. The character showed by the guys has been very special. Great Test to be involved in. Number of guys to thank. The openers held it together in the second innings. Then Kane and Blundell. Neil has been doing this us for a long period of time. It came off for him at the right time. Great for Test cricket for all the guys that are here. Having Test matches like these is good for Tests going forward,” said New Zealand skipper Southee in the post-match presentation.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

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