England vs New Zealand 2nd Test: Jonny Bairstow Blitz Takes England To Exciting Win, Here's How The World Reacted
Jonny Bairstow was the attacker-in-chief as he slammed the second fastest Test century for England, hitting 14 boundaries and 7 mammoth sixes in his 92-ball 136 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
England needed to chase down a fourth innings target of 299 runs on the final day of the 2nd Test against New Zealand in little over two sessions and it led to one of the most thrilling finales to a Test in modern day cricket. Given England's modest approach in Test cricket off late, not many would have expected them to go for the win, as they already had a 1-0 lead in the series. But this is a new England Test team, led by Ben Stokes and managed by head coach Brendon McCullum.
From whatever cricket fans have seen of Stokes on the field and of McCullum when he used to take the greens for the Blackcaps, these are two men who believe in taking every challenge head on and play at their attacking best.
This exactly what England did. Despite losing three early wickets, the Three Lions put in a great dash at the target in the post lunch session. Jonny Bairstow was the attacker-in-chief as he slammed the second fastest Test century for England, hitting 14 boundaries and 7 mammoth sixes in his 92-ball 136 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Skipper Stokes wasn't to be left behind and he put in the icing on the cake, remaining unbeaten on 75 off 70 balls to guide the team to a series clinching win.
The performance drew great appreciation from the cricket fraternity on social media. Here are a few reactions.
Jonny Bairstow, an innings of a lifetime, one of the best counter-attacking 4th innings you will ever see.Well done England , Test Cricket is Best Cricket. #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/BV5dVzbIqk
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 14, 2022
This is utterly ridiculous .. Last time I saw this type of drama was in 2019 when Jonny was sat on the balcony watching Ben .. Now Ben has the best seat in the house watching Jonny .. #ENGvNZ
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 14, 2022
A standing ovation in the TMS box and the same at a rapturous Trent Bridge! ????????????
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) June 14, 2022
Jonny Bairstow - what a knock to witness!
???? Listen to @bbctms live on @BBCSounds #BBCCricket #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/ByY0XHVfeN
Two exemplary run-chases and a chase that didn't happen. Some stellar cricket played…around the same time. #Maxwell #Bairstow #Chahal #Harshal What a day for International cricket ????
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 14, 2022
Amazing chase and Test win. ????
— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) June 15, 2022
The Stokes/ McCullum leadership flying ATM
Bairstow dipping into his T20 skills to smash ????
Free entry on day 5 winner = Massive crowd/atmosphere.????
Very watchable series ???? https://t.co/g6OlFU1xf9
#Bairstow 136 runs with 14 fours and seven sixes not only won a dramatic Test for England but gave youngsters belief that white ball ka style red ball main bhi match winning ho sakta hai. #ENGvNZ #CricketTwitter
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) June 15, 2022
England Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team
Jonny Bairstow
Ben Stokes
Trent Boult