Ben Stokes's 80 powers England against NZ in Christchurch Test
England recorded a mammoth 151-run first-innings lead against New Zealand in the ongoing first Test match in Christchurch. The third day of the match saw the Brits finish at 499/10 courtesy of a stunning 171-run innings from Harry Brook. The team, which resumed their game at 319/5, was also powered by skipper Ben Stokes, who contributed with 80 runs. He was unfortunate to miss out on a ton.
Brook leads England's recovery after early setbacks
England were well placed at 222/5 when Stokes arrived to bat in the final session of Day 2. He added 159 runs with Brook for the sixth wicket, taking England past New Zealand's first-innings total of 348. Stokes also added vital runs with pacers Gus Atkinson (48) and Brydon Carse (33*) to further tighten England's grip. He eventually went down as the ninth batter, falling to Matt Henry.
Brook's innings ends after New Zealand hold onto catch
Meanwhile, Brook's brilliant innings, which comprised of 15 fours and three sixes, came to an end when he was caught behind off a Henry delivery. He was dismissed after surviving a few dropped catches from the New Zealand fielders. Brook's innings ended to applause, both for his brilliant knock and for New Zealand finally holding onto a catch. Notably, Brook, alongside Ollie Pope (77), added 151 runs after England were down to 71/4.
New Zealand's bowling performance and England's continued dominance
Henry was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking four wickets for 84 runs. Debutant Nathan Smith also made an impression with 3-141. However, despite their efforts, England continued to take the match away with Atkinson and Carse playing handy knocks. Notably, Kane Williamson was NZ's top-scorer in the first innings, having scored 93 to help NZ finish at 348/10. Carse and Shoaib Bashir took four wickets apiece.
Stokes goes past 800 runs vs NZ
Stokes slammed 80 off 146 balls with the help of nine fours. Playing his 108th match, Stokes surpassed 6,600 runs (6,641) at 35.51, as per ESPNcricinfo. He now owns 35 fifties in addition to 13 tons. Versus England, Stokes has raced to 860 runs across 12 Tests at a fine average of 43. The tally now includes six fifties besides a ton. 438 of his Test runs have come in England at 36.50.
