England Vs New Zealand 2nd Test Day 2: Tons from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell drove NZ to 553 in the first inning

Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell were at a 149-run stand in partnership. They carried forward the momentum to expand their partnership to 236 runs off 408 balls as both the batters scored a ton. Jack Leach finally managed to break the stand by dismissing Tom Blundell at 106. However, this didn't stop Mitchell from hitting, as he built another 91-run stand with Michael Bracewell. Bracewell scored 49 on his debut as Anderson traps him for a thick outside edge. Stuart Broad then takes two in his over, sending Kyle Jamieson (14) and Tim Southee (4) back to the pavilion, whereas Leach dismissed Matt Henry for a duck in the very next over. Trent Boult scored an unbeaten 16 alongside Daryl Mitchell, who swashbuckling scored 190 off 318 and became the final big wicket for Matthew Potts. Thus, New Zealand posted a massive total of 553/10 for the hosts.

Daryl Mitchell spoke to the BBC on stumps and said, "Not really bothered about the double. It's a nice surface. You can see the way England played tonight. For me, it's about trusting my skills. It's always cool to get some scores. [Dropped early?] When you get a few chances, you need to make the most of it, and you need a bit of luck in this game. We created three chances tonight and we know that if we keep putting the ball in the right spot for a long time, we'll have a chance. That's the nature of the game. The first one I'd back myself nine times out of 10 and the second one was a reaction catch... hopefully I can take the next few. [Blundell] To miss out at Lord's and get one today is special. We had some good fun out there."

In response, England made a good start. They lost Zak Crawley (4) very early to Trent Boult. But Alex Lees and Ollie Pope took action in command to avoid further damage. If there was still a scope left to show how good the pitch was for batters, Ollie Pope did it by scoring his half-century in just 66 balls. Kiwis could have been a lot happier if Daryl Mitchell had not dropped both the batters at first slip. Later they took England to 90/1. 

A lot can change over the course of the next three days in this match. With still 463 runs behind, it's a lot of work for the hosts to do. However, looking at the nature of the pitch, New Zealand will have to bowl consistently in a disciplined manner and take wickets to pile up pressure on the hosts. It will be great to see if England drives a spirited fight or if New Zealand will succeed in building pressure with the ball.