England secured an important win over New Zealand in their 1st Test match at the Lord's on Sunday, June 6. Leading the team to the victory was their former skipper Joe Root, who scored his 26th Test century to take England over the line.
When England were in trouble at 69/4 while chasing a target of 277, Root started the comeback fight with a 90-run stand with Ben Stokes and then set up a partnership of 120 runs with Ben Foakes to lead England to a five-wicket win. Congress leader and former Cabinet minister P Chidambaram hailed Root and Foakes for their fightback to fend off the New Zealand bowlers on Day 4 and take their team to a win.
"The way Joe Root and Ben Foakes batted and took England to victory against New Zealand is a fine demonstration of responsibility, discipline, and character," he tweeted. "That is true professionalism," he added.
Root finished the match with an unbeaten score of 115 on 170 deliveries and scored 81 runs during his 120-run stand with Foakes. Foakes himself made an unbeaten 32. Ben Stokes also scored 54 in England's chase.
Earlier in the game, England had dismissed New Zealand for 132 in the first innings after the visitors opted to bat. However, they themselves could only make 141 in their innings. New Zealand looked like they were in trouble yet again but Daryl Mitchell's century and Tom Blundell's 96-run knock rescued the team and helped set a target of 277 for England, as they made 285 in their second outing.
With the win, England have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. They will now face off in the second Test at Trent Bridge, starting on June 10. As for the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings, this was just England's second victory of the 2021-23 cycle, having played 13 matches, losing seven and drawing two.
This win also moved them off the bottom of the WTC table and the side will hope to seal the series and win at home. It will be a massive win for new skipper Ben Stokes as well and their new head coach Brendon McCullum.
Root, meanwhile, also became just the second English player and 14th overall to reach 10,000 runs.
