Cricket: England Vs New Zealand-Jonny Bairstow smashes century as England fights back on Day 2 

Three wickets in five balls for Jack Leach restricted Kiwis to 329

New Zealand resumed their play with Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, continuing to add runs to their blazing 102-run stand on Day 1. Tom Blundell lost his wicket at 55 to Michael Potts's terrific inswinger, whereas Jack Leach dismissed Daryl Mitchell (109), tempting him for a flighted delivery taken by Ben Stokes. After their dismissal, Tim Southee chipped in 33 runs to expand the total, as the team got bundled at 329. Jack Leach and Stuart Broad stole the show, returning with five and three wickets, respectively. 

Trent Boult leads the seam assault to dismiss the top-order of England

England had a very terrible start to their first inning. They were reduced to 55/6 as Trent Boult, and Tim Southee ripped off their top-order with world-class swing bowling. Trent Boult bowled out Alex Lees (4), Zak Crawley (6) and Ollie Pope (5), whereas Tim Southee dismissed Joe Root (5). The top-four batter returned to the pavilion with a single-digit individual score. Playing his first Test of the tour, Neil Wagner commenced with a two-wicket maiden over, dismissing Ben Stokes (18) and Ben Foakes (0). While it looked that visitors might return to the field with batting by the end of the day, things went turtle-shaped in the final session. 

Unbeaten 209-run stand between Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton

The two errors proved fatal for the Kiwis. Neil Wagner decided against a review that would have returned Jamie Overton to the pavilion and even dropped Jonny Bairstow before the break. The duo went berserk as they built an unbeaten stand of 209 runs off 223 balls. While Jonny Bairstow (130) smashed his back-to-back ton, Jamie Overton reached his 89 and looked in good form to achieve a debut test hundred on the third day.  

Hosts are now at a deficit of 65 runs as New Zealand failed to capitalise despite being in a strong position at the beginning of the innings. It will be interesting to watch if bowlers succeed in getting early breakthroughs tomorrow or if England will see a record-breaking partnership convert this trail into a successful lead.