NZ vs Eng: New Zealand Make History With Incredible 1-Run After After Follow-On
New Zealand vs England: New Zealand secured a stunning 1-run victory against England in Wellington.
New Zealand vs England: Neil Wagner took the last wicket of New Zealand.
(Photo: Twitter/ICC)
New Zealand became just the fourth team ever to win a Test match after being forced to follow-on, as they pulled off a thrilling one-run victory over England in a classic final-day contest, here in Wellington's Basin Reserve on Tuesday, 28 February.
Pacer Neil Wagner (4/62) was the hero for the Kiwis as he had James Anderson caught behind down the leg side to clinch a famous victory for the Kiwis in the second Test at Basin Reserve.
England had to chase down 258 for victory in the fourth innings and they looked to be in control when Joe Root (95) and Ben Stokes (33) were at the crease and less than 60 runs were required.
But Wagner and Tim Southee (3/45) dug deep during a tense finale to ensure New Zealand picked up a thrilling triumph to level the two-match series at one-game apiece.
New Zealand Enter the History Books
New Zealand's victory was only the fourth time where a team won a Test match after being enforced a follow-on, with the most recent occurence coming way back in 2001 when India clinched an unlikely win against Australia in Kolkata.
The Kiwis' winning margin of one run is just the second time in the history of Test cricket that a match has been decided by the narrowest of margins, with the only other incident being in 1993, where West Indies pulled off a similar triumph over Australia in Adelaide.
The match was not part of the current World Test Championship period, with both New Zealand and England already out of contention of reaching June's final.
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