On the fourth morning of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, Joe Root’s magnificent century helped England to a five-wicket victory.
As a result, Root became just the second England batsman to score 10,000 Test runs.
Behind Sir Alastair Cook, with a score of 115 not out.
Root and Ben Foakes batted together for 120 runs without stopping.
This helped the home team win when they were 216-5 in the morning, which was 61 runs short of their total of 277.
The England pair’s calm demeanor in the dark made a morning that could have been nerve-wracking more bearable.
When Root pulled Tim Southee for the winning boundary on the third day.
The dramatic comeback from 69-4 to win was complete.
Before that, England had only won one of their previous 17 Tests.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum were able to get off to a good start as the new captain and coach, respectively.
New Zealand’s seven-match unbeaten streak against England came to an end on Saturday.
There will be a third test match on Friday at Trent Bridge.
Root wins it for England
Even as England fell apart under Root’s leadership, he developed as the world’s best Test hitter.
In his first Test after giving up the role of captain.
He once again showed his class and proved how valuable he is to the England team.
Root began on 77 on a foggy morning with the floodlights on and batted with the same determination he showed late on Saturday night.
On many occasions, he had the good fortune of edging the ball past his stumps.
But when he clipped Southee to mid-wicket, he reached three figures.
He also became the 14th player in Test history to score 10,000 runs.
As a 31-year-old, he matches Alastair Cook’s record as the youngest cricketer to achieve 10,000 Test runs.
And he is also the first to do it fewer than 10 years after his debut.
This was Root’s first century in the fourth innings of a Test match, a remarkable feat given his career achievements.
Foakes, who has made his most significant contribution with the bat since a century on his debut against Sri Lanka in 2018, provided excellent assistance.
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