New Zealand scripted a dramatic one-run victory against England on Tuesday at the Basin Reserve in Wellington to level the two-match series at 1-1. Neil Wagner was the star of the show, using the shot ball tactic perfectly to his advantage. The left-arm pacer took the decisive wicket of James Anderson to send the Kiwis into delirium.
England needed just two runs to complete the clean sweep, which is when Wagner targeted Anderson with short balls and was rewarded with it as New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell pulled off a diving catch as Anderson flicked the ball down leg to find the keeper.
"Amazing achievement, hats off to everyone, everyone kept fighting." said Wagner, who finished with 4-62.
"That's the characteristic of this team, they played well, credit where it's due, but we found a way of contributing."
Blundell, who played knocks of 38 and 90, was delighted to hang on to the tumbling catch.
"Saw it well and luckily it went in clean. Pretty happy," said the wicketkeeper.
New Zealand became only the fourth team to win a Test match after being asked to follow on. England managed it twice, against Australia in 1894 and 1981, while India beat Australia in 2001.
After declaring their first innings on 435 and bowling out New Zealand for 209, England was cruising to victory. Kane Williamson led the Kiwi fightback, dragging New Zealand back into the Test with a superb 132 in their second innings.
