ENG vs NZ | Jonny Bairstow Masterful knock helps England seal the series

Jonny Bairstow's majestic century guided England to a five-wicket win in the second Test against New Zealand in the final session of the last day of the Nottingham Test. 

Bairstow, who delivered the innings of his life, smashing 92-ball 136, also became the second English batter after Gilbert Jessop to smash the fastest hundred for England in the game's longest format. 

The wicketkeeper batter took the New Zealand bowlers to the cleaners, having belted a total of 14 fours and seven sixes during his whirlwind knock to chase down the target on the final day to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-Match Test series against the Kiwis. 

Chasing a target of 299, England got off to a shaky start as Zak Crawley continued his struggle with the bat and fell for a duck. However, fellow opener Alex Lees ensured that the early blow to England didn't affect the hosts in the long run. 

Starting the innings with back-to-back boundaries, Lees tried putting pressure on the New Zealand pacers by scoring briskly. Lees, along with first-innings centurion Ollie Pope stitched a 41-run partnership for the second wicket before the latter fell prey to Matt Henry. 

Soon after Pope's departure post-lunch, England suffered another big blow as Trent Boult got the prized scalp of England's former skipper and prominent architect of England's 1st innings, Joe Root, for just three runs. 

Alex Lees, holding the one end, then joined hands with Jonny Bairstow and put up a 37-run stand for the 4th wicket before Tim Southee got the better of Lees. 

English skipper Ben Stokes, who came to bat despite suffering from a knee injury, then joined the forces and shared a 179-run stand with Bairstow before the latter was hooked by Trent Boult for 136 – a knock to remember for ages. 

Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes then kept skipper Stokes, who remained unbeaten for 75 off 70, company with an unbeaten 12 off 15 balls to take England home. 

Earlier, resuming from their overnight score of 224/7, New Zealand could add only 60 runs on Day 5 as the hosts bowled out the Kiwis for 284 in their second innings within an hour. 

Daryl Mitchell, who is having a dream run with the bat in the ongoing series, scored another fifty and remained unbeaten on 62. English senior paceman Stuart Broad got the better of Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, who came to bat despite suffering from lower-back injuries. 

The final nail in the coffin was hit by the old horse of England, James Anderson, who bowled a length ball to trap Trent Boult at mid-off as he became the final wicket to fall for New Zealand. 

Overall, Trent Boult was the successful bowler in the match, having scalped eight wickets, followed by English pace duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad with five wickets each. 

England, who are currently sitting at second last in the World Test Championship 2023 points table, have now three wins from 15 matches and from here on, they will aim to make it better under the watchful eyes of their new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.  

On the other hand, New Zealand will look to salvage some pride from their miserable tour of England in the third and final Test, scheduled to be played at Headingley, Leeds, starting on 23rd June. 

Brief Scores: 

New Zealand (1st Innings) - 553/10 (145.3)

Daryl Mitchell 190 (318), Tom Blundell 106 (198); James Anderson 3/62

England (1st Innings) - 539/10 (128.2)

Joe Root 176 (211), Ollie Pope 145 (239); Trent Boult 5/106 (33.3), Michael Bracewell 3/62 (17.2)

New Zealand (2nd Innings) - 284/10 (84.4)

Will Young 56 (113) Daryl Mitchell 62* (131); Stuart Broad 3/70 (20) Matty Potts 2/32 (15)

England (2nd Innings) - 299/5 (50) 

Jonny Bairstow 136 (92) Ben Stokes 75* (70); Trent Boult 3/94 (16)

England won by five wickets