Ben Stokes’ record-breaking century on Wednesday helped England defeat New Zealand easily by 181 runs in the third one-day international match, giving them a 2-1 series advantage.
In the 50-over format, Stokes broke Jason Roy’s previous record of 180 runs by scoring 182 runs off 124 balls. Stokes retired from one-day cricket last month.
England’s Test skipper hit nine sixes and 15 fours to help the home team to a final score of 368 after building momentum with an outstanding batting performance at The Oval.
It is nice to be back in the team and contribute after some time away, said Stokes.
We talked about applying pressure to New Zealand, particularly at the top. You want to go out there and set an example as seasoned players,’ he continued.
In contrast, New Zealand struggled to reach the target and fell short by 187 runs, with Glenn Phillips leading the way with an outstanding 72 runs. The only other batter to score more than 20 runs was Rachin Ravindra, who finished with 28 runs.
Chris Woakes led England’s five bowlers in wickets, getting rid of notable New Zealand batsmen like Will Young, Henry Nicholls, and Tom Latham. Reece Topley grabbed two wickets, while Liam Livingstone took three.
We were aware that we needed to do well at the plate. They produced movement in the air and off the pitch with their bowling in the top 10 overs. The New Zealand captain Latham stated, “We were unable to build partnerships.
After experiencing a top-order collapse in the second ODI, England displayed resiliency to recover and triumph, as Trent Boult dismissed Jonny Bairstow with the opening pitch.
However, only two overs later, Boult trapped Joe Root leg before wicket, putting England in even more trouble.
However, Stokes and David Malan’s 199-run partnership held strong until Malan was caught by Latham off a Boult ball, leaving England at 368.
However, after Stokes was out, England’s tailenders, led by Ben Lister and Bolt, rapidly finished the innings. Stokes also shared partnerships with Jos Buttler and Livingstone.
I was very happy with the performance. There are a lot more levels we can reach, particularly in the T20 format, according to England skipper Jos Buttler.
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Boult recorded his sixth five-wicket haul in one-day internationals by finishing with statistics of 5-51. Adam Milne was injured, but Ben Lister took his place and claimed three wickets.
The series’ last one-day game will be contested at Lord’s on Friday. As they get ready for the ICC Cricket World Cup that will be held in India next month, this series is important for both teams.