Joe Root becomes second player to complete 14,000 Test runs:1848 runs away from surpassing Tendulkar; ENG-NZ match headed for tense finish

England’s star batsman Joe Root has completed 14,000 runs in Test cricket in the second Test match being played between England and New Zealand at The Oval ground in London, on 20 June. He has become only the second batsman in the world to reach this milestone. Before him, only India’s Sachin Tendulkar had been able to score more than 14,000 runs in Test cricket. Root was unbeaten on 75 runs until the end of the fourth day’s play. However, New Zealand’s position in the match remains strong. Chasing a target of 463 runs, England have scored 182 runs for five wickets by the end of the day’s play. The host team still needs to score 281 more runs to win, while New Zealand needs only five wickets to win. England on the back foot due to early blows from Kyle Jamieson England had a very poor start, facing a target of 463 runs. New Zealand’s fast bowler Kyle Jamieson put England in trouble by delivering a double blow in the very early overs of the match. Opening batsman Emilio Gay got a lifeline off Matt Henry’s ball in the very first over of the match, but he could not capitalize on it and was caught at forward square leg after scoring only 11 runs. Subsequently, Jamieson sent Jacob Bethell back to the pavilion by getting him out LBW with an inswinging delivery. Ben Duckett also couldn’t last long and, in an attempt to play a pull shot off Will O’Rourke’s delivery, gave an easy catch at short mid-wicket. After losing 3 wickets for just 40 runs, the England team came under immense pressure. Joe Root and Harry Brook steadied the innings, Brook scored a fifty in 33 balls After the early fall of three wickets, Joe Root and Harry Brook took control of the innings and scored runs quickly. Brook batted in his aggressive style and completed his fifty in just 33 balls. After tea, Brook played a magnificent shot over mid-off off Jamieson’s delivery. A good partnership was developing between the two, but New Zealand captain Tom Latham adopted a strategy to curb the run rate. Matt Henry, bowling excellently in his second spell (10 runs, 1 wicket in 6 overs), broke this partnership. Harry Brook, after scoring 54 runs, was caught by Daryl Mitchell at slip off Henry’s ball. Captain Ben Stokes might return in the next Test
Amidst England’s weak batting performance in the Oval Test, good news is coming for the next match. Regular captain Ben Stokes might return for the next Test match at Trent Bridge. Stokes is currently playing a home match for Durham against Northamptonshire, about 300 miles from Oval, where he played a brilliant innings of 95 runs. In his absence, England’s middle order seemed to crumble in this match. -New Zealand has taken a strong lead of 352 runs over England on the third day of the second Test. On Friday, England was all out for 291 runs in their first innings at The Oval ground in London. Thus, New Zealand got a lead of 100 runs in the first innings.