The Oval ke maidan par garmi sirf mausam ki nahi thi balki Matt Henry ki balls ki bhi thi. New Zealand ne doosre Test ke teesre din apni pakad mazboot kar li hai. England ki batting line-up ek waqt par tas-mas ho chuki thi lekin unke debutant Matthew Fisher ne aakhir mein jo ladayi dikhayi usne England ki thodi izzat bacha li. Phir bhi 100 runs ki lead ke saath New Zealand filhal driving seat par baithi hai.
The Guru Story
London ki dhoop mein New Zealand ne wahi kiya jo ek champion team karti hai. Pichle din ki sub-par performance ko peeche chhodte hue Matt Henry ne aag ugalti hui bowling ki. England ne din ki shuruat 169 runs peeche reh kar ki thi aur unhe ummeed thi ki unke debutants kuch kamaal karenge. Lekin Jordan Cox sirf 5 runs jod kar Henry ka shikar bane jinka catch Tom Latham ne shandaar tareeke se pakda.
Iske baad jo hua wo England ke fans ke liye kisi sapne se kam nahi tha. Henry ne back-to-back wickets chatkaye. Jofra Archer ko wicketkeeper Tom Blundell ne smartly catch kiya aur Josh Tongue bhi Henry ki naggi line ke aage surrender kar gaye. England ka score 235/6 se palak jhapakte hi 238/9 ho gaya. Matt Henry ne apne 11 Test matches ke career mein pehli baar England ke khilaaf five-wicket haul mukammal kiya.
Lekin kahani mein abhi twist baaki tha. No. 9 par aaye Matthew Fisher ne har nahi maani. Unka saath de rahe the ek aur debutant Sonny Baker. New Zealand ne ek asaan run-out ka mauka ganwaya aur Fisher ne uska pura fayda uthaya. Fisher ne aggressive batting karte hue Will O'Rourke aur Nathan Smith ko boundary ke baahar bheja. Unhone apni maiden Test fifty poori ki aur England ka total 291 tak pahunchaya. Aakhri wicket ke liye 53 runs ki partnership ne New Zealand ki lead ko thoda kam kiya lekin khatam nahi kar saki.
Analysis & Numbers
- Matt Henry ne 80 runs dekar 5 wickets liye jo unka England ke khilaaf best performance hai.
- Matthew Fisher ne 50 runs ki fighting innings kheli jo unke career ki teesri first-class half-century hai.
- New Zealand ko pehli innings mein exactly 100 runs ki lead mili hai.
- Aakhri wicket ke liye England ne 53 precious runs jode jisne NZ ko pareshaan kiya.
The Guru Gyan Verdict:
New Zealand ne match par apni pakad mazboot kar li hai lekin England ke lower order ne dikha diya ki wo ladna jaante hain. Matt Henry ne purani dushmani ka hisab barabar kar liya hai lekin 100 runs ki lead Test cricket mein Gamechanger sabit ho sakti hai. New Zealand agar do sessions dhang se batting kar gayi toh England ke liye ye match bachana mushkil ho jayega. Bazball ke ghar mein Blackcaps ka dominance saaf dikh raha hai.
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