The Oval ke maidan par aaj ek aisi batting performance dekhne ko mili jisne England ke Bazball ghamand ko zameen par la diya hai. Glenn Phillips, jo apne quirky style aur raw power ke liye jaane jaate hain, unhone red-ball cricket mein apni pehli Masterclass pesh ki. England ne socha tha ki bouncers se Kiwi batters ko dara denge, lekin Phillips ne unhe unki hi bhasha mein aisa karara jawab diya ki poori English team fielding mein bilkul disoriented nazar aayi.
To Hua esa hai ki:
Day 2 ki shuruat jab hui tab New Zealand ek comfortable position mein thi lekin unhe ek bade total ki zaroorat thi. Glenn Phillips 49 par unbeaten the aur England ne unke khilaaf short-ball tactic apnayi. Sonny Baker aur Josh Tongue ne bouncers ki jhadi laga di, par Phillips ne bina kisi darr ke unhe boundary ke bahar bhejna shuru kiya. Isi beech Kyle Jamieson ne unka bharpoor saath nibhaya. Dono ke beech 87 runs ki ek aisi partnership hui jisne match ka rukh hi badal diya.
Khel ke dauran England ki fielding itni sadharan thi ki dekh kar laga jaise unka dhyan game par hai hi nahi. Ben Duckett ne Kyle Jamieson ka ek behad aasan catch deep midwicket par drop kiya, jo baad mein England ko kafi mehenga pada. Phillips ne apna maiden Test ton poora karne ke liye Jofra Archer jaise speedster ko target kiya aur finally ek single lekar apna 100 poora kiya. Is century ke saath Phillips ab us elite list mein shamil ho gaye hain jisme sirf Brendon McCullum aur Martin Guptill ka naam tha.
Jab New Zealand 391 par all out hui, tab session khatam hone mein sirf 20 minute bache the. Ben Duckett aur Emilio Gay ne kisi tarah 3 over ka awkward spell nikala aur lunch tak England ka score 15 for 0 tha. Arre bhai, agar aisi fielding rahi toh 376 runs ki trail recover karna England ke liye Himalaya chadhne jaisa hoga!
Analysis & Numbers
- Glenn Phillips became only the 3rd batter from New Zealand to score centuries in all three international formats.
- The 8th wicket partnership between Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson added a crucial 87 runs, which is the highest in this innings.
- Kyle Jamieson scored 41 runs, his highest Test score in the last six years, showing his dominance with the bat.
- Jacob Bethell was the surprise element with 3 wickets for 26 runs, despite England's main pacers struggling to find rhythm.
The Guru Gyan Verdict:
Seedhi baat ye hai ki England ne match ko light le liya tha. Unki bouncer strategy unhi par backfire kar gayi. Glenn Phillips ne dikha diya ki Test cricket sirf defence ka game nahi hai balki dimaag aur dam-khum ka hai. England ki fielding itni ghatiya thi ki kabhi-kabhi laga unhone Pakistan se fielding coach hire kiya hai! Phillips ki century ek Prophecy thi un critics ke liye jo kehte the ki wo sirf white-ball specialist hain. Ab yahan se New Zealand ka palda bhari hai aur England ko agar wapsi karni hai toh unhe apne bowling tactics ko drastically badalna hoga.
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